Saturday was hot and sunny in Seattle, the sort of day that calls for sunhats and sunscreen, but Sunday dawned cold. There was a mist—one of those fine but heavy mists that practically verge into rain. They always remind me of Ireland.
It was a day to stay indoors, stay cozy, make a good breakfast—even though I didn’t have anything particularly breakfast-like in the house. I’d run out of milk, which meant anything in the baked goods/pancake/waffle family was out of the question.
But I had been looking at Simply Recipes the night before, my friend Elise’s impressive and comprehensive recipe and cooking site. Elise claims some Mexican heritage and I had stumbled onto a recipe for chilaquiles. Mmmm, chilaquiles.
Chilaquiles, if you’re not familiar with them, are the thrifty cook’s way to use up old tortillas. The corn tortillas are cut into wedges and fried, like tortilla chips, then they are sautéed in red or green salsa and topped with cheese, onion, and cilantro.
I have a thing for chilaquiles. When I go to the farmers’ market at the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco, I always get chilaquiles from the Primavera stall there. It’s my standard market breakfast.
If I go to Señor Moose, my favorite Mexican restaurant in Ballard and a good stop before or after the Ballard Farmers’ Market, I always get chilaquiles. I love chilaquiles. And yet, I’ve never made them myself.
With a rainy Sunday at my disposal, that was going to change.
I happened to have a few corn tortillas in the fridge, that needed to be used up. And a jar of green salsa from tomatillos I grew in the garden last summer. I didn’t have avocado or sour cream or the type of Cotija cheese that is often used as a topping, but I thought I could do fine without. At it’s most basic, chilaquiles is tortillas and salsa.
So I fried some tortillas cut in wedges. I’m not much of a fryer—it scares me a little—but I put a bit of oil in the bottom of a wok and it worked fine. You have to keep an eye on them, because there’s nothing good about burnt tortillas.
Once the tortillas were done, I poured out the oil and wiped out the pan and put some of the salsa in there to warm up. The fried tortillas went in after and got mixed around and coated with the salsa. The tortillas soften a bit in their salsa bath, turning into some serious Mexican comfort food.
Some chopped onion and a trip out to the garden to get some cilantro later, I was all set. I scrambled an egg and topped it with red salsa and sat down to one of my very favorite Sunday breakfasts. It was so cozy and delicious, I barely even noticed the rain.
I’m not sure why it took me so long to make chilaquiles, but I will be making them again soon. That I am sure of. I hope you don’t wait as long as I did to give them a try.
Chilaquiles recipe on Simply Recipes.
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So funny you posted on chilaquiles today! I had some yesterday at a Mexican restaurant down the street, but to be honest, yours look a ton better!! Looks delicious.
yum! i like to cut the tortillas in strips – easier to eat!
On my own cold wet day,i’m sorry you did;nt post this a day early.Thanks,will try them soon.Enjoying your blog!
I have very fond memories of the Primavera chilaquiles too! So inspiring to see you cooking up your own version chez Tea.
These look fantastic!! I love Mexican food especially the meatless recipes and anything involving an egg is paramount to Latino Culinary Genius–Thanks!!
Um. Can you believe this – I have never been to Senor Moose and I too have never made Chilaquiles. Shame on me! I have been eating just awful things for breakfast lately and it’s time I made myself a proper meal. Lunch sometime soon at the Moose???
sounds perfect for the Impoverished Student’s Book Of Recipes that I am compiling for The Ragazzo who hopes to go being studying at music college later this year.
If you have any suggestions for mouldy bread, squidgy tomatoes and rock-hard cheese please do let me know since they will be, I suspect all that he will find when he opens his fridge door!
They look so yummy….
Do drop by my blog @ https://eatfoodlovelive.wordpress.com/
Woowie! Yummy and interesting! And most important easy to make! Thank you my husband will love them for the game tonight!
thank you for introducing me to my new favourite breakfast … S thanks you in advance, too.
Even though I’m not feeling well, those still look really yummy.
I love chilaquiles and love the ones at Señor Moose too (the only things I’ve ever ordered there!). I make them all the time at home, but I like to slide an egg on top because runny yolk and corn tortillas do wonders together.
This also works really well with stale tortilla chips; you just skip the frying step. I also, if I’m low on salsa, will add a big spoonful of tomato paste and some water and then spice with chiles, cumin, etc. This is one of my fave breakfasts, with an over-easy egg on top.
I know what I’m making for dinner tonight!