Put down the burrito bowl and listen carefully: this chilaquiles recipe will not only get you in touch with your inner Abuela, but it will also be the only Mexican dish you need in your 2016 arsenal.
Traditional chilaquiles are made up of fried tortilla chips coated in a salsa mixture with scrambled eggs either mixed in or on the side. This version uses homemade corn tortillas (which can be substituted for store-bought if you’re feeling lazy, but come on, you got this), and a fried egg on top as opposed to scrambled.
The runny yolk adds a richness to the spicy, tangy salsa, and paired with some cool sour cream, this dish is hard to beat. Don’t be intimidated by the homemade tortillas, they require little skill and not much extra time (plus, you’ll look like such a pro).
All you need to make corn tortillas are the masa harina and some water. Start by hunting down some masa harina, or maseca, which is basically just corn flour and can be found in any Latin grocery store and most normal grocery stores with a Latin foods section. The other part of this dish is the salsa verde, which is arguably the easiest (and most delicious) salsa to make.
Chilaquiles
Ingredients
Instructions
Mix the masa harina/maseca and water until a play-doh like dough forms.
Roll the dough into 2-inch balls and cover with a damp cloth for 5 minutes.
Whip out your tortilla press (if you’re a baller and have one), if you’re like most of us and don’t, pull out a cast iron pan and a rolling pin.
Place each dough ball in between two pieces of parchment paper and press down firmly and evenly using the cast iron pan. At this point, the tortillas will be round, but pretty thick, so use the rolling pin to roll them out to about 4-5 inch circles.
Put cast iron pan over medium-high heat and toast each tortilla until they have some color on each side. Once toasted, cut them like you would cut a pizza, making 8 chips per tortilla.
Add about 1/2 inch of oil (vegetable, corn, or canola) to the cast iron pan and increase the heat. Heat until the tortilla slices sizzle when placed in the oil. Fry until golden brown and crispy.
Set broiler to high. Peel husks off of tomatillos and peel the garlic cloves.
Put tomatillos, garlic cloves, and peppers in a pan under the broiler until their skins are black and charred, about 8-10 minutes.
Take the stems and (if you don’t want it too spicy) the seeds out of the peppers. Place the tomatillos, peppers, garlic, cilantro, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.
Empty the frying oil from the cast iron pan and put it back on medium heat. Add 1 cup of chicken stock, bring to a simmer, then add the salsa. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
While salsa mixture is simmers, fry 3-4 eggs (depending on how many people are eating), leaving the yolks runny.
Add the tortilla chips to the salsa mixture and toss until all of them are completely coated. Serve with cilantro, jack cheese/sour cream, and fried eggs on top.
Enjoy!