This classic Mexican dish has a shocking origin story

The dish

Pozole, Mexico

Plate up Some dishes out there have histories that are fairly dull. They evolved over time, people pinched some ideas, blended a few others – the end. Some dishes, meanwhile, come with fanciful tales of invention: legends that attribute their creation to great military leaders or presidents or emperors. And then there are dishes with histories that will just blow you away. Pozole is one of those. This thick, hearty soup is a classic of Mexican cuisine, with a story of creation as fiery as any chilli that goes into it.

Pozole – based on a broth made with pork or chicken bones, plus blended chillies.Credit: iStock

Before we get to that, let’s describe the dish. Pozole is based on a broth made with pork or chicken bones, plus blended chillies (the likes of guajillo, ancho and pasilla), tomatillos and native herbs such as epazote. This soup is served with hominy and shredded meat, and topped with fresh chillies, onion, radishes, avocado, crispy pork skin, sliced cabbage and crushed tortilla chips. It’s spicy, savoury, sour, crunchy, chewy, hearty and delicious.

First serve OK, this is going to get ugly. Look away now if you’re squeamish. Because there is evidence, uncovered by the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia in Mexico, that pozole originated as a “special occasion” dish among Aztecs, and that these special occasions in question were ritual sacrifices, and that the sacrifices were human, and that … well, so was the meat. This is going back to the 14th century, where archaeological evidence points to the cannibalistic nature of early iterations of pozole. After that, thankfully, pork, chicken and turkey became the preferred meats.

Order there Pozole is a classic dish you will find served throughout Mexico – it isn’t hard to experience. If you’re in Mexico City, you can’t go wrong at Restaurante Teoixtla (Zacatecas 59, Roma Norte).

Order here In Sydney, they do an excellent pozole at Mexican Burrito Cantina in Surry Hills (mexicanburritocantina.com.au). In Melbourne, enjoy a tasty iteration at El Columpio in Fitzroy (instagram.com/elcolumpiomelbourne).

One more thing The whole cannibalism thing isn’t 100 per cent certain. A paper was published in Science journal suggesting Aztecs got their protein from chicken, turkey and beans; there have also been accusations of post-colonial sensationalism about Aztec culture.