Big Sunday pozole

May 8, 2008 | 5:30 pm

Big Sunday, the country's largest volunteer event, is my annual reminder of why I love to cook. And with 20 to 30 folks showing up for the Big Sunday project I run at a shelter for runaway teens, it's the perfect opportunity to make pozole, a dish that can handle both a swarm of eager sous chefs and a crowd at the dining table.

The kids we serve come from Central America and Mexico, most came here looking for parents they believe are working in the U.S. It can break your heart. But, frankly, on Big Sunday, there's no time to dwell on the tragedy. I organize volunteers (pictured here, Utku Cakirozer and Steve Goldinger) into teams to clean, paint, overhaul gardens and other projects. But there must be something particularly satisfying about chopping because most people want to help make dinner.

The kitchen has a none-too-reliable stove and only the basics in cooking gear, so I've learned not to over-reach on the equipment needs. A few years back, I realized pozole was THE dish for this event. Preparing the condiments -- chopped avocados, radishes, onions, cabbage, oregano -- can keep a team of volunteers busy for hours. And the base stew of pork and hominy is foolproof. I've searched out authentic recipes that aren't crazy difficult. This year I modified a pozole verde recipe by Anya von Bremzen. We made queso fresco quesadillas accompanied by salsa with fresh serranos, tomatoes, red onion and cilantro (another project for my team of choppers). Dessert was fresh strawberries, gooey brownies just from the oven and ice cream. The crowning glory: Fresh tangerine juice. We did most of our shopping at the Hollywood Farmers Market and one of the vendors overheard my husband and I talking about the project. She pulled a bushel of tangerines from the back of her truck and gave them to us gratis.

My spin on Anya's take on this traditional dish from the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Guerrero is to use pork broth made from pigs feet and garlic that I made the night before Big Sunday. But it is Anya's method of making a puree with fresh tomatillas, onions, poblanos, jalapenos, garlic, cilantro and oregano in the blender that elevates this dish without making it an ordeal. Throw in the shredded chicken and cubes of pork loin, let it stew and wait for the applause.

By the time we leave, the sweet smell of peppers and tomatillos is wafting down the halls. Too shy to poke their noses into the kitchen while we are working, the kids are lined up ready to chow down when we leave. And rather than exhausted by the day of chopping and shredding, the kitchen crew talks eagerly about next year's Big Sunday supper at the shelter.

-- Corie Brown

Photo by Corie Brown