Recipe: Chilaquiles Verde

After posting my original Chilaquiles recipe, a number of great friends were like “my favorite is Chilaquiles verde”. I admit, I don’t discriminate, haha. I love them all. So, I had some left over chorizo and was like… let’s make Chilaquiles verde.

The great thing about the Chilaquiles verde is that the tartness of the tomatillo provides a totally different dimension to the dish. Now, I don’t go with as much spice in my own version of salsa verde as I don’t want to mask that brightness of the tomatillo, but, if you feel like you love it and want more, go for it! I also make a roasted salsa verde rather than the more classic boiled. I admit, it’s not as vibrant green as the other, but, I love the smoky undertone in flavor.

Here is my version.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of Tomatillo salsa

  • (to make the salsa, begin by roasted in the broiler a lb of husked and washed tomatillos, 1 small onion cut in half with the root removed, 4 garlic cloves in their husks, 1 serrano chile for 5-10 minutes until charred. The tomatillos will burst and char as the other ingredients char. Remove from the oven. Take off the serrano chile and garlic. Remove the garlic husks, toss the cloves back onto the tray. Then using a knife peel the skin off of the serrano and cut in half. Return to the baking sheet. Be careful once touching the chile to wash your hands. Now that everything has been returned to the baking sheet, scrap off, including all of the juice from the tomatillos into a blender. Add a half bunch of cilantro as well, just the leaves (remove the stems) and salt. Puree until smooth)

• Tortilla chips (a 2 cups per person roughly)

• 4 eggs (1 per person)

• Cilantro for garnish

• Cotija cheese for garnish

• 1 avocado sliced into slices

• Mexican Crème for garnish

• Queso Fresco for garnish

• ¼ lb of good chorizo

(Or you can make your own. Simply buy a pound of fine ground pork, and mix it with a teaspoon of cold water, 4 garlic cloves peeled and minced, ¼ cup of good-quality ancho chile powder, ½ teaspoon Mexican cinnamon, ground, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, salt, and then allow to sit for several days in the refrigerator)

In one skillet, begin to brown chorizo, crushing it with a fork to make small pieces. Once done, remove from the pan and drain some of the access fat.

Over medium heat, begin to cook the salsa in a large skillet. Reduce the salsa until a slight viscus sauce. At this point, you are practically ready to eat. You must do these next steps quickly and plate for the Chilaquiles to be good.

Have another pan on the stove with a little vegetable oil in the bottom, heating over medium heat. Crack the four eggs in and sprinkle with salt. Once the sides begin to brown, place a lid on top and remove from the heat to cook the egg white on the surface and leave the yolk creamy.

At the same time, drop the chips into the salsa and toss, cooking. This depends on the chips how long this takes. You don’t want to not put any heat on them and have them be crunchy with sauce on top of them, not do you want to make them soggy. Toss, toss, toss.

Place the Chilaquiles on a plate. Top with the chorizo and cotija cheese (so it melts slightly). Then place egg on top and top that with queso fresco, avocado, and Mexican crème. Serve immediately.