ChefSteps is a team of chefs, writers, and food lovers who develop recipes, techniques, and guides to help people cook better at home.

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Always wanted to create an epic multicourse dinner? In our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/tasting-menu-spring">Tasting Menu: Spring</a> feature, we’re sharing recipes from a carefully orchestrated tasting menu we served to friends at a cozy spring dinner party in the ChefSteps kitchen. Our menu description: Geoduck. Juiced greens. Tortilla. Hominy. Pickled white garlic.


But really, what’s in there? Our version of this pre-Columbian dish—“pozole” literally means “hominy,” the dried corn kernels common to many Native American diets—includes geoduck, lime juice, juiced greens, and pickled garlic. So it’s not traditional. But it is delicious!


Plating suggestion: Individual crocks or other rustic bowls


Pair with: 2012 Occhipinti Il Frappato Sicilia


Wine note: Frappato is a native grape of the island of Sicily. This unique wine sometimes smells like Volnay, sometimes like nectarine juice, and sometimes likes flowers—you get hints of all three. Made by a rising young wine star, it’s also organic and unfiltered.About the dish: What makes this particular pozole “northwestern”? It’s got geoduck in it, for starters! Never seen a geoduck? Oh geez, <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/cleaning-geoduck">check this video out</a>. Can’t get geoduck and need a substitution? Try clams! Mussels or even thin slices of pork belly will work great too. In addition to that crazy crustacean, our version contains flavors inspired by Vietnamese cuisine. But while the flavors span the globe, the resulting stew will be right at home alongside your favorite dinner-party dishes.With so many amazing flavors mixed in, this dish is all about balance. You’ll probably need to mess with the ratios to wind up with something that tastes just right to your palate. Play with it, test it out on your friends, and tweak. Soon enough, you’ll land on your own perfect pozole.