adapted from Epicurious.com

9 cups of chicken stock or water

1 bay leaf

1 onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 teaspoons of salt

2 1/2 pounds total of boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs

1/2 cup green pumpkin seeds, untoasted

1 pound tomatillos, husked

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large can of hominy, rinsed and drained

Bring 8 cups of water/broth, bay leaf, half of onion, half of garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a large soup pot.  Cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add the chicken and poach at a bare simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Transfer chicken to a cutting board to cool.  Strain the stock into a large bowl and reserve.  Discard the bay leaf.  Add the onions and garlic from the pot to the cutting board with the chicken to cool.  When the chicken is cool enough to handle, chop it into small pieces along with the onion and garlic.  

Preheat oven to 350.  Toast pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet for about 7 to 8 minutes.  Let them cool and them grind them in a spice grinder - I used my mini prep food processor.  

Simmer the tomatillos and the remaining onion with the 1 cup remaining broth.  You can use the same soup pot you used for the chicken.  Cook until tender, about 20 minutes.  Draintomatillos and onion.  Transfer to a food processor.  Add red pepper flakes, cumin, cayenne pepper, oregano, cilantro, remaining garlic and remaining salt.  Puree until smooth.  

Heat vegetable oil in your soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the tomatillo mixture to the pot.  Cook, uncovered, stirring constantly until thickened - about 10 minutes.   Stir in ground pumpkin seeds and 1 cup of the reserved broth - simmer 5 minutes.  Stir in chopped chicken, hominy and 5 cups of reserved broth.  Simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes.  Stir in chopped fresh cilantro.  If your soup is too thick - add additional water or broth to your desired consistency.