Green Pozole - {Pozole Verde}

Place the nixtamal in a colander and rinse thoroughly. Pour it into a large Dutch oven or a heavy lidded pot, add 16 cups water and bring to a boil. Boil gently, loosely covered, 2 hours, or until tender. Do not allow the mixture to boil dry. Enough water should remain at the end of the cooking time to keep the nixtamal moist.

Meanwhile, wash the chicken. Place it in a heavy lidded pot with 8 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Strain and measure the broth, adding water if necessary to equal 8 cups. Shred the meat, discarding the skin and bones. Set aside the broth and the chicken.

When the nixtamal is tender, remove it to a bowl. Wash the pot, then return the cooked nixtamal to the pot.

Wash the poblano chiles and discard the stems and seeds. Cut into chunks. Wash the cilantro and cut off the tips of the stems. Place the chiles and cilantro in a blender jar and add 1 cup water. Blend until thoroughly pureed.

Slice 1 onion.

Add the chile-cilantro puree, the chicken broth, the sliced onion, the garlic cloves and 4 1/2 teaspoons salt to the nixtamal. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes.

Add the chicken and cook 15 more minutes.

Dice the remaining onion and place it in a small bowl. Arrange the lettuce, serrano chiles, lime wedges and oregano in separate bowls, and the crisp tortillas in a basket or bowl.

To serve, ladle the pozole into large soup bowls and add lettuce, chile slices, lime juice and oregano as desired, with tortillas to accompany.

This recipe yields 8 to 10 servings.

Each serving: 523 calories ; 28 grams protein; 88 grams carbohydrates; 13 grams fiber; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 44 mg. cholesterol; 1,608 mg. sodium.