Hugo Ortega

Mexico has more than seven thousand miles of oceanfront and a wonderful coastal cuisine, especially along the Pacific. In comparison with other cultures, we add a lot of flavor to our fish dishes, so they’re rich and spicy. With so many peppers, herbs, and charred onions and garlic, you could say we season our fish too much, but it works.

For the past twenty-five years, I’ve been buying herbs from Fresh Herbs of Houston, which was founded by a Vietnamese woman named Pat, who came here back in the 1970s, and has been farming in Texas for many years. A decade ago, she asked me what special ingredients I might want for my menu and I answered flor de calabaza (squash blossoms). Pat has been growing squash blossoms for my restaurants ever since, and during the long summer season I buy more than a thousand of her blossoms each week. So, we two immigrants help each other.

Scratch-Made Hominy recipe from chef Hugo Ortega, who uses this method to make homemade hominy for his Turkey Pozole Verde recipe.

Recipe provided by chef Hugo Ortega of Hugo's, Caracol Restaurant, and Backstreet Cafe. Good for any time of year, but especially satisfying when you've got a lot of leftover Thanksgiving turkey but you're tired of turkey sandwiches.