Crab and Hominy Chowder

Ingredients

• 1  avocado 
• 3 slices bacon 
• 1 cup cilantro leaves chopped
• 0.5 cup wine dry white
• 8 ounces crabs shelled cooked
• 1 clove garlic 
• 1 cup hominy drained and rinsed
• 2  jalapeno fresh
• 1 large leek 
• 1 teaspoon juice of lime 
• 2 cups chicken broth reduced-sodium
• 0.3 cup olive oil 
• 12 ounces potatoes - remove skin red
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 0.3 cup vegetable oil 
• 0.3 cup whipping cream 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• blender

Directions

1. In a 4- to 6-quart pan over medium-high heat, cook bacon, chopped, until fat starts to render. Discard all but 1 teaspoon fat from pan.
2. Add white part of leek, halved, rinsed, and thinly sliced; stir until limp.
3. Add wine and boil until almost evaporated.
4. Add chicken broth; 2 cups water; hominy; potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch chunks; and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced, about 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make cilantro pure (see below). Also pit, peel, and chop avocado; mix with lime juice. Stir whipping cream and salt and pepper to taste into chowder.
6. Add Dungeness crab; cover and cook until heated through, stirring as little as possible to keep crab intact. Spoon chowder into bowls and top each with a tablespoon of cilantro pure and a spoonful of avocado.
7. To make the cilantro pure, in a blender, combine vegetable oil; olive oil; cilantro; chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded; garlic, peeled; and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whirl until smooth. Any leftovers can be spread on toast for an easy appetizer.
8. Wine pairing: With the rich crab, pungent chile, and herbal cilantro, we like a creamy, minerally Pinot Gris. Cline's Pinot Grigio-Chardonnay blend (California; $1
9. is great as well.