Finals are coming to an end (Praise Jeebus!), and with the welcome break comes more time to waste in the kitchen when I should really be finding jobs, preparing for graduation in May, and preparing for post-graduate studies. One still needs to eat, though, yes?
Without really thinking about the fact that the time spent this past Sunday morning would lead to being able to enjoy something other than junk food and coffee as I anxiously worked my way through six exams and portfolios, I made huevos rancheros. The original source for this delicious creation was taken from a recipe found on Simply Recipes. I can’t claim to any particularly unique spin on it, but this is the essence of a simple dish that simply works.
And, believe me... the first time you order huevos in a run-of-the-mill Mexican restaurant and are served a plate of overcooked egg, warmed over canned sauce, and absolutely no soul ... you’ll realize it’s much better to make than it is to buy.
My girlfriend and I both feel this is absolutely our favorite breakfast meal, and it’s one I wish I had begun cooking a long time ago. The first step to get started on is the sauce, and here’s how I do it (keeping in mind this is going to give you about 6 servings worth of sauce, if not a bit more):
Pour a bit of olive oil into a pan (I use cast iron for most things, but in this case I’d recommend using a deeper-than-average metal saucepan because the sauce incorporates a lot of acidic ingredients that love to eat cast iron seasoning) and heat it over medium. Once the oil has developed a sheen indicating it’s hot enough, toss in 1/2 to 1 onion, chopped, 1 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped, and a pinch of salt. Sauté this for a few minutes until the onions start to turn translucent.
At this point you have lots of options. I like a mixture of green bell pepper (1/2 a whole) and whatever hot peppers you have on hand (3 to 4), along with a seasoning blend of ground cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, a dash of cinnamon, a bit of oregano, and something to add a slight smoky flavor (smoked paprika, chipotle peppers, charcoal... maybe not that last one). Add the peppers and spices to the garlic/onion mixture and cook for a couple minutes, and then toss in your a 14 oz. can of tomatoes, chopped. Bring this all to a boil, stirring once in awhile to avoid it sticking and burning, and then let it simmer for about 15 to 30 minutes or longer.
The sauce is important, but I think for the dish to really sing, it’s got to have a nice balance brought to it by the other components. The writer linked above at Simply Recipes explains the preparation of egg and tortilla very well, so I won’t rehash it here. Definitely check that out.
There are certainly quite a few people who have an aversion to refried beans (having not made my own fresh, I’ll have to plead ignorance on their potential glories...) I’m also not a gigantic fan of refried beans in most cases but I think they’re vital here, and corn tortillas are vastly superior to flour (plus often they’re the only ones at most stores without a strange preservative taste you get with most flour tortilla brands). I like to put the dish together in layers, starting with 1 or 2 corn tortillas, some refried beans spread over the tortillas, a little bit of sauce, a fried or poached egg, a little bit of cotija and/or cheddar and/or jack cheese, a covering of sauce that spills out over the plate, and a topping of cilantro and sliced green onions. Sometimes I like a little sour cream...
The result is a dish that combines some crispy textures from the corn tortillas and veggies in the sauce and topping, an interplay of spicy, sweet, and tangy in the sauce itself, and creaminess with the beans, cheese and egg. Wonderful with a side of rice and orange juice. Eat two of these things and it'll probably be nap time.
If you make enough sauce (which keeps wonderfully in the fridge, as acidic tomatoes take a long time to go bad), you can repeat this dish with about 10 minutes worth of effort during a busy weeknight or 3 a.m. return from the bar (Scratch that. Don’t cook when drunk. Trust me.). It certainly kept *me* alive this finals week. I’m trying to forget that meal of gummy bears and potato chips at the moment...
It seems silly to write all about the food I'm serving my
Chicken in a Vindaloo style coconut milk/malt vinegar based sauce, with the normal accompaniment of Indian spices and a bit of heat. Probably my favorite curry out of the 20 or so I've prepared so far. I kind of hate that it's such a generically recognizable Indian item, but the taste... oh my.
Either eggplant braised in a tomato based sauce with various other things that escape me at the moment. Or a potato curry with a red lentil puree, roasted whole cumin seed, lime juice, and cilantro.
Rice pilau of some sort. Involving spices. Surprise!
An accompaniment similar to Tzatziki sauce called a raita. Cucumbers are a no-no when combined with yogurt in Ayurvedic medicine, but whatever... sounds plain, but I eat it like pudding. Ginger, lemon, garlic, etc. ... let it sit in the fridge for a bit to meld flavors. Great to put out the fire.
Homemade Indian flat bread (chapattis). Three or four chutneys ... Rice pudding and/or Diwali treats! If I feel like it... otherwise dessert is going to be more beer.
There are, in fact, many reasons that I'm putting this menu together and that, in general, Indian food is my favorite cuisine. Certainly more on that in a future blog, posting sooner rather than later.
Ciao,
Brian
Nice post!
ReplyDeleteParticularly the tip about cast iron.... hrm, if you could do a whole cast iron pan segment I'd be totally into it. I have some pots, but haven't really used them since I was a kid growing up (mom used them a lot), so don't really remember many intricacies.
This is by far my favorite cooking-related blog! ;)