Huevos Rancheros

The egg cracked straight onto the tortilla in the pan, so the two set together as one piece.

Egg. Not vegetarian — contains cheese whose rennet the source does not name, lard.

Ingredients

the sauce

• 600 g tomatoes
• ½ onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 serrano chillies
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

the rest

• 8 corn tortillas, as on their own page
• 8 eggs
• oil, for frying
• 200 g refried beans, as on their own page
• 150 g crumbly white cheese
• a handful of coriander, chopped

Method

1. THE EGG IS CRACKED STRAIGHT ONTO THE TORTILLA IN THE PAN, so the two set together as one piece. That is what separates this from the other two egg plates on this site. A tortilla is laid in a lightly oiled pan, given twenty seconds to warm and soften, and the egg is broken directly onto the middle of it. The white spreads and runs over the edge of the tortilla slightly and sets there, welding the two together, so what lifts out is a single disc -- tortilla underneath, egg on top, inseparable. It can then be moved with one spatula and eaten with a knife and fork without the egg sliding off. Fried separately and then laid on, the egg sits loose and the first cut sends it skating.
2. THE PAN IS BARELY OILED AND THE HEAT IS MODERATE. Enough oil to stop the tortilla sticking and no more. In deep fat the tortilla crisps into a tostada and the egg will not bond to it; too hot, and the white sets before it has spread over the edge.
3. THE SAUCE IS LADLED AROUND THE EGG AND NOT OVER THE YOLK. Hot ranchera sauce poured round the white in a ring, leaving the yolk clear. Over the top, it cooks the yolk from above and hides the dish; and the point of a huevo ranchero is a liquid yolk that mixes with the sauce when it is broken.
4. THE SAUCE IS COOKED DOWN AND NOT RAW. Blended tomato, onion, garlic and serrano fried in oil for twelve minutes until it darkens and thickens enough to sit on a plate. A thin raw sauce floods the plate and soaks the tortilla from underneath within a minute.
5. THE BEANS GO UNDER THE TORTILLA, NOT ON IT. A spoonful spread on the warm plate first, the egg-and-tortilla disc laid on top. It anchors the disc so it does not slide, and it keeps the beans from getting between the tortilla and the egg where they would break the bond.
6. The tomatoes, onion, garlic and chillies blended smooth.
7. The 2 tablespoons of oil heated and the blended sauce cooked 12 MINUTES over a medium heat until darkened and thick enough to sit on a spoon. Salted. Kept HOT.
8. The refried beans warmed. Plates WARMED.
9. A frying pan set over a MEDIUM heat and barely oiled.
10. A tortilla laid in and given 20 SECONDS to warm and soften.
11. An egg CRACKED STRAIGHT ONTO the middle of the tortilla.
12. Cooked 2 to 3 MINUTES, until the white is set and has run over the tortilla edge, welding them together. The yolk left LIQUID.
13. A spoonful of beans spread on the warm plate and the whole disc lifted onto it with one spatula.
14. The hot sauce ladled AROUND the white in a ring, leaving the yolk CLEAR.
15. The cheese and coriander scattered over.
16. Two per person, cooked two at a time in a wide pan, and served at once.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes