CHEF MONICA DIMA’S POSOLE

Yield: about 8 quarts A pig trotter is, yes, the foot of a pig — Dimas advises that a Mexican grocery (like her favorite, Mendoza’s Mexican Mercado on Aurora) and Uwajimaya carry them, or you can usually find them at Safeway (call ahead, and note that you don’t want them smoked). This recipe makes a ton of soup; you could halve it and likely still end up with plenty to eat now and freeze for later. “It’s a lot,” Dimas says, “but posole should be made for a crowd/the fam. It was our Sunday morning tradition growing up. It’s also excellent hangover food, and if it makes a hangover bearable, it’ll soothe all of the other anxieties.” And if you don’t want to cook, Dimas’ posole is available at her lovely First Hill restaurant, Little Neon Taco.

Ingredients for the posole: 8 quarts water 1/2 pig trotter 3 pounds pork butt/shoulder 2 whole sweet yellow onions 4 bay leaves (fresh preferred, dry is fine) 1 tablespoon oregano (fresh preferred, dry is fine) 108-ounce can hominy, drained 12 whole dried guajillo chilies 4 whole dried japones or árbol chilies (add more for extra spiciness) 1 teaspoon whole cumin or 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 5 whole garlic cloves, peeled 1/2 cup salt plus more to taste (Diamond kosher preferred) For garnish possibilities: Cabbage, finely shredded Onion, finely diced Cilantro Oregano (dried) Lime Radish

For optional chili oil addition: Take 1 part dried japones chilies to 1/2 part vegetable or canola oil. Toast the chilies and oil (use an oil with mild to no flavor, like vegetable or canola) together in a little pot over medium-low heat until fragrant, then puree. Make as much as you want — it will keep in the fridge. Steps:

Wrap the pig trotter in a flour sack or cheesecloth if you don’t want the bones in the final soup. Put the water and the trotter in a large 12-quart pot. Simmer for 1 hour, skimming off any scum that accumulates on the surface.

Cut the pork butt/shoulder into 2-inch pieces. Peel and quarter your onions. Add the onions, bay leaves and oregano along with the pork to the broth. Simmer for 45 minutes.

While the pork is cooking, de-seed and de-stem your guajillos chilies, and de-stem your japones chilies. Place them in the jar of a blender along with 1 cup of the hominy, the cumin and the garlic, then add enough of your hot broth to cover. Once the chilies are somewhat soft from soaking, puree the mix as coarse or as fine as you prefer.

At 45 minutes, check the pork for tenderness. You want it three-fourths of the way cooked — if unsure, cook to almost tender. Leave the onion/oregano/bay leaves alone. When the pork is three-fourths tender, add the pureed chili mix and the remaining hominy, then let everything cook together until the pork is fork-tender and the fat is nearly all rendered, up to another 2-1/2 hours. Add the salt a tablespoon at a time, stirring and tasting until it’s right (don’t be shy — this is a lot of soup!). If it seems too spicy, you can add up to a quart of water (though it should pack some heat).

To serve, generously top with finely shredded cabbage, diced onion, cilantro and a tiny pinch of dried oregano. Garnish with limes and radish, plus optional chili oil on the side to add to taste. The chili oil will lend more smokiness and also heat!