Chilaquiles Recipe

Chilaquiles is hands down my favorite breakfast to make and eat. My mom has been making it for me for years. Her version is a more dry Tijuana style chilaquiles that she learned while living there in the late 70s. I used her basic recipe, same ingredients but changed the way I used those ingredients. I also upgraded it by adding a whole different variety of toppings. As you can see there is an egg in this photo. But I thought you were vegan Ally, I thought you ate raw! Well, you would be correct, but this is a version I love to make for my boyfriend. He jokes that it is the only thing I know how to make. I have a strange fascination with making eggs. The smell and taste repulses me but for some strange reason I just love to cook them. Eggs are so versatile and there are so many ways you can cook them. I think a fried egg adds the perfect touch to the top of these chilaquiles and takes it to a whole other level. It makes for a nice presentation. You can see my vegetarian version at the end of this post.

The ingredients for this recipe are so so basic, and you probably have most of them in your fridge right now.

Ingredients (serves 2)

10 corn tortillas

2 tomatoes

1 serrano pepper (or jalapeno)

2 green onions

1 avocado

queso fresco

1-2 eggs

salt and pepper

your favorite salsa

a large saute pan

canola/vegetable oil

I joke around that I am a tortilla connoisseur, a tortilla snob. Well its actually true. I can't stand the preservative filled tortillas from the grocery store. If you are lucky enough to live near a tortilleria or a Mexican grocery store you can get some good, freshly made tortillas. Tortillas should have 3 ingredients, corn, water and lime. It makes all the difference, really. Start off with about 10 corn tortillas and stack them on top of each other. Use a sharp knife and cut them into little squares about 1 inch across. They should be bite sized.

Heat your pan on medium high and add in 2 Tbsp off canola oil. While you wait for it to heat up, slice up your green onions using only the white part and a little bit of the green part, and save the tops for another recipe. Meanwhile roughly chop the tomatoes and dice the chile. Saute the onion until slightly brown and throw them into a blender along with the tomatoes and chile.

Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and blend until its a puree. Set the sauce aside and begin to brown your tortilla pieces. Throw in your tortilla squares into the same pan, and add a little more oil if you need to. Coat the pieces in the oil and stir every couple of minutes. The goal is to have them crisp up so they resemble day old tortillas. Continue to brown them for about 10 minutes. When they are nice and dry, almost like a tortilla chip but slightly softer, add in the sauce. Continue to stir for another minute to coat the tortillas and heat up the sauce. Serve them on a plate and top them with cheese, avocado slices, a fried egg and your favorite salsa.