Red Posole

I've only had vegan Posole once before at a little restaurant called Cinnamon Vegetarian. Posole is my mom's favorite soup but because she's suffering from high cholesterol, the doctor told her to limit her intake on meat. She asked me if I could make her something similar to what we had at the restaurant. So I started looking online, combining recipes and substituting ingredients and I came up with this. My boyfriend never had traditional posole but was really blown away by how great this tasted. I can't wait until my mom comes back from vacation so I can make this again for her!

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Serves 6

Ingredients - Soup
* 1 or 2 (or more, if you are a chili head) dried chilis de Arbol, ancho, or guajillo chilis to suit your preference
* 1 onion, diced
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 6 cups Vegetable or Better than Bullion Vegetarian Chicken Stock
* 1 15 oz can of Fire Roasted, Diced Tomatoes ( If you cannot find fire roasted, a regular can of diced tomatoes will do as well )
* 1 Tb dried oregano
* 1 15 oz can of Pinto Beans or 2 cups of cooked Pinto Beans
* 1 15 oz can of Hominy
* Salt ( Don't add salt if you're using Better than Bullion )
* Juice of 2 limes

Ingredients - Garnishes ( Choose one or more of the following )
* Avocado Slices
* Cilantro
* Lime Wedges
* Tortilla Chips
* Shredded Cabbage or Lettuce
* Diced Onions
* Radishes

Directions
1. Soak the chilis in a bit of boiling water for 20 minutes or so, then puree in a mini food processor. If you need to, add a little water while you puree.
2. In a large soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in the oil for 2 minutes over medium heat.
3. Add the tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of salt, the oregano, and 6 cups of vegetable broth or vegetarian chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for ten minutes.
4. Add the pinto beans and hominy and bring back to a simmer. Allow to simmer for ten minutes.
5. Add the pureed chilis, lime juice, stir, then add salt and more lime juice or more of the tomatoes as needed to produce a piquant broth. You might like to add the chilis a little at a time and taste to make sure you aren't exceeding your heat preference. You can always serve the remainder of the chili sauce on the side. Allow this to simmer for at least forty minutes.
6. Serve it forth, with a good selection of garnishes.