For those nights when you get home hungry, stressed, and impatient, Hangry is here to help. Each Monday, Kendra Vaculin will share quick, exciting meals to rescue anyone who might be anxiously eyeing a box of minute rice.
Today: You are going to want to eat all of the components of this dish as you make it, but be strong. Believe it or not, the eggy, cheesy, spicy, crunchy sum is greater than the eggy, cheesy, spicy, crunchy parts.
This is one of those magic recipes where all of the parts are so individually appealing that real willpower is required to put them together before you eat them. To make chilaquiles, you stack good on top of better on top of best, and then that whole mess is covered in melted cheese. You get it. It's tough.
I hesitated real hard after I'd fried my tortillas ("Maybe I can just have chips for dinner…"), I did a double take with the eggs over easy ("This seems like a good place to throw in the towel…"), and I stopped in my tracks once all that cheese was in front of me ("I really think this the end…"). But if I can impart one bit of chilaquiles wisdom on you it is that you cannot rest until you've made this sauce. I did a slow dance with a blender full of the stuff, and then, because I am mighty and full of will, I added it to the pile.
Good on better on best -- plus shredded jack and crumbled Cotija. And cheesus lord in adobo heaven was it worth it.
Red Chilaquiles with Fried Eggs
Serves 3 to 5, depending on sauce preferences
For the sauce:
One 12-ounce can peeled tomatoes, plus 1/2 cup of the juices
1 jalapeño, with seeds, roughly chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
2 chiles in adobo (Buy a small can and, if you're weird like me and you like spicy things, spread the leftover adobo on toast or eat it with a spoon)
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon agave
Pinch of salt
For assembly:
Vegetable oil, for frying
Corn tortillas, cut or ripped into triangles
Eggs (This is vague! I know! How many do you want? That many.)
Cilantro
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Cotija (crumbly Mexican cheese) or something similar, like feta
Salt and pepper
See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.
Photos by Bobbi Lin
A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).
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