Huevos rancheros, or Farm Eggs as it translates into English, is a classic Mexican mid-morning breakfast dish that works beautifully for a weekend brunch.
It consists of fried eggs served over lightly toasted tortillas with a tomato sauce or salsa and other accompaniments; refried beans, avocado and cheese are often used.
I serve my huevos rancheros with two salsas; a lovely roasted red salsa made with plum tomatoes, green chillis, garlic and onion, and simple fresh salsa made with sweet cherry tomatoes, finely chopped onion, coriander and lime juice.
Both add something special to the dish, and they are quite simple to prepare.
Roasting the plum tomatoes adds sweetness and depth of flavour but do use the freshest sweetest tomatoes you can find, especially for the fresh salsa.
This recipe includes a simple recipe to make refried beans. If you have tried and hated the shop bought gloopy version of this dish, try making your own. It will be a revelation.
Corn tortillas work best for this dish, but wheat tortillas are good if you cannot source any made from corn.
If you live in Dublin, Picado Mexican Pantry in Portobello stock a fabulous range of Mexican ingredients, including their own recipe tortillas. They also deliver nationwide. Do check them out if you love Mexican cookery.
Huevos Rancheros
I serve my huevos rancheros with two salsas; a lovely roasted red salsa made with plum tomatoes, green chillis, garlic and onion, and simple fresh salsa made with sweet cherry tomatoes, finely chopped onion, coriander and lime juice.
Preparation Time
30 mins
Ingredients
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Salsa Roja
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450g plum tomatoes
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3 green chillies
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2 cloves garlic
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3 tsp olive oil
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¼ onion finely chopped
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½ a vegetable stock pot
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Pinch flaky sea salt
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Refried Beans
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1 tbsp olive oil
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½ onion, finely chopped
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1 clove garlic, minced
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½ tsp ground cumin
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¼ tsp chilli powder
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1 tin black beans
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Small handful chopped coriander
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Juice of half a lime
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Flaky sea salt and black pepper
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Fresh Salsa
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100g cherry tomatoes
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¼ onion, finely chopped
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1 tbsp chopped coriander
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Splash of lime juice
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Flaky sea salt and ground black pepper
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Tostadas and to serve:
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8 eggs
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8 small corn tortillas
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100g feta cheese
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A little fresh coriander
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Some thinly sliced red chilli
Method
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First, make the salsa roja. Heat a heavy based nonstick pan over high health. Add a teaspoon of olive, just enough to cover the base of the pan. Pop the plum tomatoes, green chillies and the peeled whole cloves of garlic into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and pop a lid on the pan. Pan roast the vegetables for fifteen minutes, occasionally tossing them gently while keeping the lid on to ensure they cook evenly. After fifteen minutes, they should be soft, a little charred and very fragrant.
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Heat two teaspoons of olive oil in a small saucepan and cook the finely chopped onion until it is soft and translucent, about five minutes will do it.
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While the onion is frying, put the roasted vegetables and any cooking juices from the pan into a food processor along with half a vegetable stock pot and blitz until smooth. Add the blitzed vegetables to the pan with the onions. Stir, and allow the salsa to cook for minutes over medium heat. Taste and season with some salt if required. Set aside and move on to the refried beans.
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Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a medium pan. Add the chopped onions, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the garlic, cumin and chilli powder and fry for about a minute, stirring all the while. Drain the beans, reserving the water from the tin, and add them to the pan along with 125ml of the reserved water. You will add more of the water later if required, so keep that to hand. Bring the pan to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium, cover with a lid and cook for five minutes.
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Next, use a potato masher to mash the beans. I like to keep a little texture in my refried beans, so I mash mine until they fairly smooth, but retain some texture. Add more of the reserved water if required and continue to cook the beans over a low heat for another two minutes, stirring all the while. Remove from the heat, stir in the lime juice and the chopped coriander. Taste and season, adding some ground black pepper and sea salt to taste. Cover and set aside.
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Make the fresh salsa next. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters and pop them into a bowl along with the chopped onions, coriander, a little ground black pepper and a pinch of sea salt. Add a splash of fresh lime juice. Stir and taste to check the seasoning, adding just a little more salt or lime juice if required.
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Now toast the tortillas. Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add just enough olive to coat the pan and pop on a tortilla. Fry the tortilla until it is lightly toasted on both sides, but not crisp. Repeat until you have fried all the tortillas.
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Finally, use the same pan to fry the eggs. Cook them sunny side up and keep the yolks soft. I find that I always get perfect fried eggs if I add a lid to the pan for just a few minutes towards the end of frying.
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While the eggs are frying, start to assemble the dish. Place two tortillas on each of four warm plates. Divide the refried beans across the tortillas and spoon over some of the salsa roja. Add a fried egg to each tortilla, and then spoon over more salsa roja. Scatter the fresh salsa next, and crumble over the feta cheese. Finish with some chopped fresh coriander and a little thinly sliced red chilli. Serve immediately with the rest of the salsa roja on the side.
