Chilaquiles is a good way to use up left over tortillas. Like all great, simple recipes, this one probably came about when something quick and filling was needed but only the most basic ingredients were available. This dish makes a wonderful breakfast or first course before a light entreé.

Ingredients:

• 8 corn tortillas (preferably bought the day before and left out to go stale)
• 1 or 2 serrano peppers (depending on how hot you like it)
• 3/4 C. oil
• 2 tomatoes, cooked (boiled or roasted)
• 1 pinch oregano
• 1/2 C. farmer’s or Manchego cheese
• 2 Tbsp.. chopped onion
• 1/2C cream
• salt to taste
• Water

Preparation:

Cut the tortillas into 1″ x 1″ squares and, if possible, let them sit out a day before making this dish so they can get a bit stale.

Grind the tomatoes in a blender with the oregano, peppers, salt and water as needed to loosen the blades (about 1/3 cup) until smooth.

Heat the oil in a large skillet and fry the tortilla chips until crisp and golden (I recommend doing this in batches), then remove and drain on paper toweling.

Drain the oil, reserving 2 Tbsp., and save the remainder for another occasion.

In the same skillet heat the reserved 2 Tbsp. oil and add the tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, add the tortilla chips and remove from the heat. Add the cheese and allow it to melt.

Serve hot, top with onions and cream and accompany with well-fried beans.

The post Anita’s Chilaquiles appeared first on MexConnect.

Chilaquiles are tortillas cut into strips, fried, and cooked in either a red or green sauce. Literally meaning “poor man’s food,” chilaquiles were undoubtedly invented as a way of using up leftover tortillas. They have evolved into a very versatile dish, with some rather sophisticated variations. The following version uses a red sauce; however a green sauce, such as the one given for Huevos al Albañil, below, is also very good.

Ingredients

• 20 medium-size corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, or as needed
• 6 ancho chiles, seeded, deveined and soaked in hot water until soft
• 4 roma tomatoes, roasted and peeled
• 2 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 medium white onion, peeled
• 1/2 – 1 cup chicken broth, or as needed
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Oaxaca, jack, gouda or Chihuahua cheese
• 1 chicken breast, poached and shredded
• thinly sliced onion
• 1 cup Mexican crema, creme fraiche or sour cream ( crema acida)

Cut the tortillas into strips or wedges. In a large saucepan or cazuela, heat the oil, add the tortilla strips, and fry until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Place the softened chiles, tomatoes, garlic and onion in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour the mixture into the same saucepan used to fry the tortillas, bring to a boil, lower heat, and cook for about 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Place the tortilla strips in the hot sauce, add the chicken broth and cook until most of the sauce has been absorbed.

Distribute the shredded cheese and chicken over the chilaquiles. Garnish with onion rings and serve with crema.

Serves 6-8.

The post Chilaquiles with chicken and cheese: Chilaquiles con pollo y queso appeared first on MexConnect.

Serves 2

This dish is very popular among those who imbibed a bit too much the night before and find themselves paying the consequences the next morning (i.e. good cure for a hangover). It also makes for a great alternative to Sunday morning’s Eggs Benedict.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. oil
• 4 eggs
• 4 corn tortillas
• 2 tomatoes, boiled or roasted until soft
• 1 pinch oregano
• 1 or 2 Szechwan peppers or chiles de árbol, toasted over a flame
• A few thin slices of onion
• 1/4 tsps. of garlic powder
• Water
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Grind the tomatoes with the oregano, peppers, garlic powder, salt and a little water in a blender until smooth.

Heat the oil in a skillet. Pass the tortillas through the hot oil and then drain them on paper toweling.

Crack the eggs being careful not to break the yolk and fry them two at a time in the oil. Season to taste with salt. (Traditionally the eggs are cooked sunny side up, but you can cook ’em however you like).

Place two tortillas on each plate, place an egg on top of each tortilla.

Heat the sauce and add the onion slices to it.

Pour the sauce over the eggs and serve with well-fried beans.

The post Ranch Style Eggs: Huevos Rancheros appeared first on MexConnect.

After the Virgen de la Asuncion has been raised up from her bed of apples, a little bit every hour throughout the night, the faithful make their way home in the wee hours with bags of apples from her bed. This apple and egg dish is a traditional breakfast at this time of year.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large, ripe apple, unpeeled, cored, sliced into thin crescents

Beat the eggs with the parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
In a skillet, melt the butter and sautee the apples until crisp tender. Pour in the eggs, turning the pan as they set around the edges.

When the bottom is set, turn the eggs carefully to cook the other side. They should stay in one piece, like a large pancake or frittata. When cooked through, cut it into wedges and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Pollo con Manzanas: Braised Chicken with Apples (April 2005)

Roast pork loin stuffed with apples: Lomo de puerco con manzanas

This is a beautiful fall entrée, and goes well with a simple side dish like puree de papas or white rice.

The post Sauteed apples and eggs: Huevos zacatlantecos appeared first on MexConnect.

This is a good dish for company brunch because the filling can be prepared in advance and the whole thing put together at the last minute. The following filling makes enough for four two-egg omelets. Serve with hot corn tortillas and a selection of salsas.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 medium white onion, peeled and diced
• 1 can huitlacoche or 1 lb. fresh, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped epazote
• salt to taste
• 8 large eggs
• oil as necessary

Preparation:

Heat the butter in a medium skillet;
sauté the onion until transparent, add the huitlacoche, epazote and salt to taste and cook until the juice which runs out of the huitlacoche has evaporated.
Scramble 2 eggs at a time with a wire whisk, pour into a small heated skillet coated with enough oil to prevent sticking and cook until the bottom is set, pushing liquid in toward the center of the pan as the eggs cook.
When the bottom is set, place 2 tablespoons of the huitlacoche mixture on one side of the omelet, flip the other side over and cook until golden and puffy.
Serve immediately.

The post Huitlacoche Omelet: Omelette de huitlacoche appeared first on MexConnect.

The cattlemen of the north made meat easy to carry on the trail by drying it. Tastier than other versions of beef jerky, the meat is first marinated, then cooked, shredded and dried. It can be served in tacos, burritos and in scrambled eggs. This version of breakfast burritos was taught to me by the cook at a ranch where we stayed in northern Baja. Although there was no electricity to the area, and the generator was on for only three hours a day, the señora prepared excellent dishes using only ingredients that didn’t require refrigeration. Machaca is available in the Hispanic section of large supermarkets or in Mexican grocery stores.

Ingredients:

• 3 Roma tomatoes
• 1 small white onion
• 3 serrano or jalapeno chiles
• 2 cups machaca
• 6 eggs
• oil for frying

Preparation:

Chop the tomatoes, onion and chiles and sauté in oil in a large skillet until the onion is soft. Add the machaca and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Break and whisk the eggs in a large bowl, add to the machaca mixture and scramble until set.

Serve with flour tortillas and salsa casera- fresh, chopped salsa- for making breakfast burritos.

Serves 4.

Link to Source Article

The post Mexican Dried Beef with Eggs: Machaca con Huevos appeared first on MexConnect.

Huevos al Albañil literally means “bricklayer’s eggs”, but I have yet to find anyone who can tell me the origin of the name. It is very popular as a brunch dish in Central Mexico, where the cool mornings call for hearty, spicey fare.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked
• 1 medium white onion, peeled and quartered
• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 4 fresh serrano chiles, or to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 8 eggs
• salt to taste

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, place tomatillos, onion, garlic, chile and water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until the tomatillos are just soft. Place in a blender with the cilantro and puree until smooth.

In a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, add the pureed sauce, and cook over medium heat 15-20 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet. Beat the eggs with salt to taste and pour into the skillet. Cook the eggs until set, then turn and cook on the other side. Use a spatula to break the eggs into pieces. Pour the sauce over the eggs and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.

Serve immediately with plenty of warm tortillas.

Serves 4.

• Link to Source Article

The post Eggs In Green Salsa: Huevos Al Albañil appeared first on MexConnect.

I went through several versions of Mexican scrambled eggs with dried shrimp, a common dish in Oaxaca’s Isthmus region, to find my favorite. In the Isthmus, it is made with camarones oreados, or partially dried shrimp, described in Diana Kennedy’s Oaxaca al Gusto, where the recipe uses epazote and chiles. This take on dried shrimp and scrambled eggs uses onions and cilantro, but it’s one of those recipes with lots of room to play.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons large dried shrimp
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk or half and half
• Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse dried shrimp thoroughly and place in a bowl with hot water to cover. Soak for 15 minutes, drain and rinse again. Remove heads and tails and chop shrimp.

Melt the butter in a skillet and add onion and chopped shrimp. Sauté until the onion is starting to soften.

Beat together the cilantro, eggs, milk, salt and pepper and add to the pan with the onion and shrimp. Scramble eggs gently by pushing them to the center of the pan as the sides begin to set.

When set to desired doneness, serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.

The post Mexican scrambled eggs with dried shrimp: Huevos revueltos con camarones secos appeared first on MexConnect.

My own personnal favorite atole, this ancient beverage brings together two Mesoamarican natives, corn and chocolate. Besides being a good breakfast drink, atole is nice late at night, perfect for those who want to avoid a late supper but don’t want to go to bed on an empty stomach.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup masa harina  mix
• 4 cups cold water
• 2 tablets Mexican chocolate (4 ounces)
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar or piloncillo, or to taste
  

In a medium saucepan, dissolve the masa harina mix in the water and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the mixture reaches the consistency of heavy cream.

Strain mixture into a larger saucepan, add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the chocolate and sugar have dissolved. The champurrado may be thinned with milk if desired.

Serve in hot mugs.

Serves 4.

Link to source articles

• May in Mexico: A month of holiday food
• Mexican Christmas menu ideas: Posadas, Noche Buena, Navidad
• A Mother’s Day breakfast, Mexican style: Día de las Madres

The post Chocolate atole: Champurrado appeared first on MexConnect.

Mixed fruit marmalades are popular in Hidalgo, served with all manner of cakes and breads. This recipe for Mexican pineapple, apple, orange and coconut marmalade is adapted from CONACULTA’s La Cocina Familiar en el Estado de Hidalgo.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• 1 pound apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• juice of 2 oranges
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 2 pounds sugar
• 4 ounces flaked coconut

Put the pineapple in a large kettle or Dutch oven over medium heat. When it begins to soften, add the apple, orange juice, orange zest and sugar. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens to desired consistency. Skim any foam that arises as mixture cooks. Add the coconut, bring to a boil and then immediately remove the marmalade from the heat.

Pour into sterilized jars, cover and refrigerate, or use canning jars, following manufacturer’s instructions. Makes 3-4 pints.

The post Mexican pineapple, apple, orange and coconut marmalade appeared first on MexConnect.