Blog Archive

Friday, June 18, 2010

Fabulous Mexican Breakfast

Huevos Rancheros with homemade tortilla chips. Before you look any further into the recipe, I would like to state . . . the tortilla chips are made from purchased tortillas, cut into wedges and quickly fried into crispy little chips; then sprinkled with Ranch seasoning for flavor while on paper towels. No one needs to scroll down in a blog post and feel jipped.
I fight making breakfast since my stomach refuses to wake up until around brunch. Making a food dish to me means my tastes buds should be drooling over what the eyes and brain have seen, associated with and made a decision on. No one gets hungry for a breakfast with the cook looking like she is going to hurl her cookies across the kitchen just from the aroma. The solution for this unsightly problem is to find food ideas that appeal to my morning sense of adventure. I get excited over the aspect of creating something fresh and interesting. The Heuvos Rancheros breakfast was fun because all the elements pull together, looks beautiful, contain layers of great flavor, does not take long to make and is enough to wake up anyone's tummy!
Huevos Rancheros with Semi-Homemade Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
For the Chips:
Vegetable oil, for frying
8 corn tortillas, each cut into 8 wedges
1 1-ounce packet ranch dressing mix
For the Sauce:
5 plum tomatoes
1/2 medium white onion
5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 to 2 chipotles in adobo sauce
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For the Eggs:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 large eggs
1 avocado, halved, pitted and sliced
Fresh cilantro and crumbled feta cheese, for topping (optional)
Directions:
Make the chips: Heat 3/4 inch vegetable oil in a pot over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F. Fry the tortillas in batches until golden, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon dressing mix. Make the sauce: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion and garlic and cook, turning, until the vegetables are charred, 5 to 7 minutes. Squeeze the garlic from its skin and cut the onion and tomatoes into chunks. Transfer to a blender; pulse with remaining dressing mix (about 2 tablespoons), the chipotles and half of the beans until smooth. Heat the olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the pureed mixture and the remaining beans and cook until thick, about 5 minutes. Keep warm.
Make the eggs: Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the eggs in batches until the whites are set, adding more butter as needed. Divide the sauce among shallow bowls; top each serving with 2 eggs, some ranch chips and avocado. Sprinkle with cilantro and cheese, if desired.