Preheat your oven to 425F and grab out a couple of baking sheets. Remove the bottom portion of the oyster mushrooms, then shred them with your hands into small strips. Toss the shredded mushrooms in olive oil and season them with salt and pepper, then spread them out evenly on the baking sheets and roast them until slightly crispy.
In the meantime, drain and rinse both cans of hominy. Transfer them to a large stockpot with vegetable broth and bay leaves, then bring everything to a low boil. Once it’s boiling, turn the heat down to simmer while you make the salsa.
Stem and shake the seeds out of all the dried chiles, then toast them in a skillet until they’re fragrant. This helps release their oils, resulting in more flavor! Once the chiles are toasted, add them to a pot with roughly chopped onion and garlic cloves. Simmer this mixture together until the chiles are soft and pliable, then blend the salsa with the seasonings and some cooking water until it’s smooth.
Heat a little more olive oil in a saucepan over medium, then pour the blended salsa into the pan and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes to deepen the flavors. Note: You can pour your salsa through a strainer if there are small chunks, but we don’t find it necessary with our Vitamix.
When the salsa has reduced, add it to the large stockpot with the hominy and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Lastly, add in the cooked mushrooms, season the soup with salt, and simmer for another few minutes before serving. Happy eating!