Holiday Period Brunch - Green Chilaquiles With Eggs

I admire the work of Martha Rose Shulman. I first discovered her through her cookbooks, Mediterranean Light and Provencal Light. The cuisines are among my favorites, and although Shulman's specialty is making lighter, healthy fare, you never go away disappointed with her flavors. 



Chorizo and onions being cooked in chorizo fat

She is a regular columnist with the New York Times, with a column titled Recipes For Health. Don't be turned off by the Meh title. Check her out sometime.

I made an addition which turns this into a Recipe Not So Much For Health: browned chorizo sausage. Yum!

Mangia!

Green Chilaquiles With Eggs

Adapted from Martha Rose Shulman

Roasted tomatillos and chiles, ready for a spin

1 ½ pounds fresh tomatillos, husked and rinsed

2 to 4 jalapeño or serrano chiles, stemmed, to taste (seeded for a milder salsa)

12 cilantro sprigs, plus 1/3 cup chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil

1 small white onion, quartered and thinly sliced (about 1 cup sliced onion)

 Salt
 

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Juice of 1 to 2 limes, or to taste

12 ounces chorizo, crumbled and browned, drained on paper towels

6 large eggs, fried

12 thick corn tortillas, cut into wedges and deep-fried or microwaved until crisp (see note), or 1/2-pound thick tortilla chips from a Mexican grocery

½ cup crumbled queso fresco or feta
 

Ta da!

Heat broiler. Place tomatillos and chiles on a baking sheet and set about 4 inches below broiler. Roast until dark and blackened in spots, about 5 minutes. Flip over and roast on other side until tomatillos are soft and charred in spots and chiles are soft all the way through, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Transfer tomatillos and chiles to a blender along with juices on baking sheet. Add cilantro sprigs, then blend to a coarse purée.

Heat oil over medium heat in same deep-sided saute pan you used to brown the chorizo and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Add a little salt, stir in garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Turn heat to medium-high and add tomatillo purée. Cook, stirring often, until salsa thickens and leaves a canal when you run a wooden spoon down the middle. Add broth and lime juice, bring to a simmer, and simmer 10 minutes or until salsa coats the back of a spoon.

Stir in tortilla chips, making sure they are completely submerged, and remove from heat. Sprinkle with chorizo, crumbled cheese, some chopped cilantro, green onions and the eggs and serve at once.

Tip

To make tortilla chips, cut tortillas into wedges and leave out so they dry for an hour or more. Heat 1 to 1 1/2 inches vegetable or canola oil in a wide, deep skillet or wok to 375 degrees. Add tortilla wedges a handful at a time and fry, stirring constantly with a skimmer or heatproof spatula, until dark brown and the bubbling has subsided, 45 seconds to a minute. Remove from the oil with a skimmer and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining tortilla wedges.