Huevos Rancheros (Mexican Ranch Eggs)
Last week, a friend of mine proposed that we give each other a random ingredient that has to highlight in a dish--as Master Chef kind-of inspiration for deciding what to cook, so to speak. My first challenge was to find something that features eggs. I thought about it for a while, but since I was going to go with a Mexican cooking theme for this weekend's lunch, I thought I might as well make Huevos Rancheros (Ranch Eggs or Country-Style Eggs) for breakfast.
The dish looks fairly simple, with a fried egg and tomato-chili salsa nestled on a tortilla, but it's full of flavour! Only problem was that as I've never made Mexican food before, and have only ever eaten at Tex-Mex restaurants at best, so I'm not really the best judge as far as authenticity goes. Who cares about authenticity, though, when something tastes so wonderfully good, and especially when it's so simple to make, right?
I honestly can't say that the eggs were the highlight of the dish as they were supposed to be; the sauce quite clearly stole the show, but the eggs, especially with its runny yolk added a much welcome creamy undertone to the sauce. Instead of using corn tortillas, I also bought the wheat flour variety simply because they're a bit more versatile as leftovers. There still was a bit of a corn-like sweetness in them, though, that complimented the rest of the flavours. All in all, definitely something I would make again, but perhaps with roasted tomatoes, instead.
Ingredients (Serves 2)
2 medium eggsDirections
1 can cooked plum tomatoes
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 large green chili, seeded and diced
1 tbs coriander, chopped
2 soft wheat flour tortillas
1/8 tsp ground cumin powder
1/8 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp margarine
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat 1 tsp oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Lightly toast a tortilla in the oil for a little less than 30 seconds on either side. Set aside and repeat with the other tortilla. Keep warm for later.
- In the same pan, heat 1 tbs oil and add onions. Saute until translucent.
- Add tomatoes, including the juices from the can. Smash tomatoes down with the back of a spoon.
- Add green chilis, coriander, red chili powder, and cumin powder. Stir through.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer sauce to a bowl and set aside.
- Lightly rinse the frying pan and dry with a paper towel. Melt half a teaspoon of margarine. Crack an egg on top and fry on medium-low until the eggs are cooked through.
- To serve, quickly warm the tortillas if needed and add the sauce and eggs on top.
Let me know what you think!
