Chilaquiles: another breakfast of champions

My favorite breakfast in Mexico, Chilaquiles - quite possibly the best use of stale tortilla chips, ever. I have no idea how this is made. I vaguely suspect heating the day-old chips in some sort of smoky chile sauce. The Chilaquiles I've had often have bits of queso fresco crumbled in and hidden, half melted, in the soft yet crunchy layers of chips. There's also sour cream, and perhaps even some onions. And eggs, on the side, of course.

I have to learn how to do this. Does anyone have a good recipe?

Comments

[B]

This is a revelation. It looks soooo good. Please, someone tell us how to do this? I'm forever leaving my bags of tortilla chips open and paying the price.

B
http://handtomouthkitchen.wordpress.com

[Charlotte]

I like the recipe (or maybe rather construction advice!) in Laurel's Kitchen.

[matt]

Ah, quite possibly my favorite breakfast ever. You'll find a million variations for chilaquiles (or the more simple version called migas, if you're in Tex-Mex land), but you're right Pim -- old chips are covered in sauce, tossed with eggs and other ingredients, and cooked. It's freakin' FANTASTIC.

[N]

Rick Bayless has a completely delicious recipe for chilaquiles in this past March's issue of Food & Wine. It's on page 186 in the hard copy, and here's a link to it on the F&W site: [http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chipotle-chilaquiles]. I make it about once every two weeks to use up leftover chicken or chipotles in adobo. It makes a great dinner, too.

[Anita]

It's so simple!

http://marriedwithdinner.com/2006/08/09/por-peticion-chilaquiles/

[Joy]

I don't have a recipe, but have you been to Los Pastores here in SF? Irma makes incredible chilaquiles and I'm sure she'd show you how.
xoxo

[Stephen]

I love the stuff. I bet this is the dish that Americans turned into nachos. Chips, cheese, and chilies makes deliciousness!

[Fatemeh]

I love me some chilaquiles, but I prefer them with salsa verde. Mmmmm.

[The Experimental Gourmand]

After years of eating these, I finally broke down and cobbled together a version to make at home. If you go to the posts from 29 April and 05 May of this year, you'll find the recipe and details for assembly. I also prefer them with salsa verde.

[Rose Kelley]

And is there a reason you haven't gone to your source for all great things South-O-The-Border: Rancho Gordo?

Silly girl...

[kiki]

hi!!!!!!!! i've been to mexico and I really didn't appreciate food there... At least your picture makes me think different... Very happy to meet u!!! I'm a french journalist making a website on restaurants also, in Paris mostly. U can meet me on my blog : http://besofood.com

[ivan marcin]

I love chilaquiles, they're tasty and great for a quick breakfast or a hung over day.

The key for good chilaquiles is a great tasting salsa, and not using supermarket tortillas with .

For the salsa, great grandmother recipe is:
you will need 3 or 4 tomatoes, a little less than half onion, a clove of garlic, coriander and salt.

Toast the tomatoes in a pan or directly on the fire until the outer side is somewhat burnt, then let them rest and cool for a couple hours, do the same with the green chiles.

Blend tomatoes, raw onion , a garlic clove, fresh cilantro (coriander), and 2 or 3 green chiles and add salt to taste. If you want green salsa just use green tomatoes , and boil them instead of toasting.

For Chilaquiles, fry some tortillas in vegetable oil until they're brown but still soft, it takes like 5 to 10 minutes, and then drain the oil. Place tortillas in a pot, and top them with salsa. Cover it and let it cook until tortilla softens. then serve and top with sour cream, raw onion rings and maybe some manchego, cotija, or chihuahua cheese and let it melt.

if you prepared salsa before hand, you can have a great breakfast in 10 minutes :) pair the chilaquiles with mashed fried beans with tortilla chips

cheers from mexico!

[Jon F.]

You know, I learned to make these from my best friend's mom, who is from El Paso. They aren't normally made with chips, but rather with fresh tortillas. the idea for the sauce is to take the dried red chillies of your choice, soak them in warm water for a bit, then open them and push the flesh out through a sieve, leaving out the pulp. Season it with salt and pepper, and that's the sauce. Then, layer a baking dish with the tortillas, cheese and the sauce, then bake until cheese is melted and the dish is warm. Top the whole thing with fried eggs. The runny egg yolk combined with the chile sauce is amazing.

[Steven Sando]

May I add my 2 centavos?
http://ranchogordo.typepad.com/rancho_gordo_experiments_/2007/02/chilaquiles_wit.html
and
http://ranchogordo.typepad.com/rancho_gordo_experiments_/2006/10/chilaquiles_wit.html

To JonF: Good chips are ok. Bad chips are not ok, in my book. But ok chips and no tortillas to fry means you use the chips!

[click]

i'm pretty sure they are fried in a pan, not too hot, so that they absorb some oil, then are sauteed in a salsa like sauce, and topped afterwards while they're steaming hot.

[Coriander]

Mexican food maven Diana Kennedy confirms that chilaquiles do indeed consist of stale tortillas fried and then immersed in chile sauce and served with chicken or cheese and cream. For Chilaquiles Veracruzanos, for example: Into a large saucepan, put one whole chicken breast, salt to taste, one large garlic clove, 1/4 c sliced onion, 2 sprigs each mint and cilantro, and 2 cups of water. Simmer about 20 minutes, till chicken is tender; cool, shred the meat and reserve broth. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in frypan, and fry one ancho chile in it (seeds and veins removed) for about 1 minute on each side. Remove chile and cover it with hot water for 5 to 10 minutes. Reserve oil in pan. Into a blender jar, put the soaked chile, 8 oz. (1 1/2 cups) chopped tomatoes, 1 large garlic clove, salt and 1/4 c water. Blend till smooth. Reheat the oil and fry the sauce from the blender over high heat for 3 minutes, scraping pan to avoid sticking. Add 1 c chicken broth and cook one minute more. In more vegetable oil, fry 4 tortillas, each cut into 6 pieces, till they just start to stiffen but don't brown. Drain. Repeat frying twice more. Reheat the sauce, add the tortillas and stir constantly for 6 to 8 minutes. Put chilaquiles in dish, top with sour cream, chicken , arugula, onions and cheese. Salud!

[Coriander]

Woops! The chilaquiles above should be topped with diced avocado in vinaigrette, rather than arugula. (Got the glasses on now.) The rest of the toppings are 1 c each sour cream and sliced onion, and 3 oz. (1/3 c) crumbled queso fresco.

[Alli]

I blogged about my love for chilaquiles back in July. I based my recipe on a basic one from epicurious.com but made my own tortilla chips and it turned out much better. I have to say though, it's not a dish that photographs well...

http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/blogs/allis-food-finds/2007/jul/23/hangover_food/

[Marissa]

I am new to your blog. I just saw you on Diary of a Foodie last weekend. I am from Northern Mexico, but now live in San Diego. Chilaquiles is one of my favorite breakfasts. They are relatively easy to make. The word “chilaquiles” is derived from the Nahuatl word "chil-a-quilitl" which means "herbs or greens in chile broth”. Thus chilaquiles is another Mexican classic dish that uses leftovers – stale tortillas and leftover salsas. I’ve had them red (in a “chile colorado” salsa like you show in the picture), green (salsa verde) and even in mole. All delicious. At breakfast, shredded chicken and a fried egg are the most common accompaniments. But I have also seen them served alongside a strip of meat for a hearty dinner. Please never, ever use store bought tortilla chips in place of homemade ones. Below is a recipe for my favorite "Chilaquiles Verdes".

1 bag of corn stale* tortillas (30 count)
2 cups vegetable oil
1 large onion
4 jalapeño chiles
3 serrano chiles (adjust to desired spiciness)
1 garlic clove
6 tomatillos (green tomatoes)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 bunch of cilantro, thick bottom stems trimmed
Kosher salt to taste
For garnish: Crumbled queso fresco
Crema Mexicana or crème fraîche
Optional: Roasted chicken boned and shredded
Optional: Fried Egg

Cut the tortillas into six sections (triangles) and place in frying pan full of hot oil. My grandma used to cut the tortillas with her hands into randonbly shaped pieces. I prefer to cut them into triangles. Deep fry all triangles until crisp and firm and drain each and place in a big bowl over paper towels.

Cut onion into four sections. Put green tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic, and cut onion in a large pan. Add vinegar and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes until tomatoes are poached. Let cool. Add the boiled ingredients in blender with enough of the boiled liquid to puree. Add cilantro and salt and pulse three or four times, scraping down sides to blend well but only to a coarse puree.

Drain pan used to fry tortillas of oil, leaving only about 2 teaspoons, and place burner on high. When oil is hot and shimmering, pour in salsa, it will bubble. Fry it for about 3-5 minutes. Slowly add your homemade tortilla chips and let soak in salsa. At this point you can also add shredded chicken. Don’t overmix and don't let the tortillas get too soggy, they must still be “al dente”.

Serve garnished with queso fresco and a small dollop of crema Mexicana. A fried egg on top makes it the ultimate breakfast.

* It is important that you use stale, dried tortillas. If the tortillas are still fresh, cut them and leave them on the counter to dry overnight. The tortillas must be dry and hard, otherwise they will disintegrate in the salsa leaving a pasty mess – not the desired texture.