Try this popular Mexican breakfast dish
This week, we are featuring one of Mexico's most popular breakfast dishes — Chilaquiles, a very simple yet flavorful dish consisting of tortilla chips stewed in a chili sauce.
CHILAQUILES
Ingredients
About 30 corn tortillas, cut into fourths
2 cups vegetable oil, for frying the chips
4 Serrano or jalapeño peppers
3 pasilla peppers
2 cups chopped tomatillo
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup chopped tomato
2 cups water
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 eggs
1 cup freshly grated cotija cheese
Putting it together
Heat the oil and fry the tortilla quarters until golden and set aside.
Meanwhile, roast the Serrano and pasilla peppers until the outer skin is charred. Remove the seeds and membrane; add the pepper flesh into a blender along with the tomatillos, onion, garlic, cilantro, tomato and water and blend until smooth.
After the chips are done, filter the remaining oil and save for later use. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of the leftover oil and the blended ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for about five minutes. Adjust the seasoning of the sauce by adding salt and pepper, to taste. Stir the tortilla chips into the sauce and cook until the chips get soft. Add more water to the pan, if necessary, to keep the Chilaquiles from drying out.
Once the Chilaquiles are done, quickly fry the eggs two at a time to desired doneness and serve them on top of a nice serving of Chilaquiles topped with some of the cotija cheese and enjoy. You can also top your chilaquiles with sour cream, diced onion, chopped cilantro or even spicier salsa to suit your taste.
Antonio Villagomez is head chef and owner of Cilantro's restaurant and catering in Yuba City, Calif. Contact him at 530-844-2111. His website is cilantros.us.
