Ever since I first heard of this dish, whilst watching a number of Mexican soap operas on Univision (yes, I’m actually admitting to this!), I wanted to try it. I eventually did on my first of many trips to Mexico. And it was even more delicious than I had imagined.
The Mexican culture, albeit not the cuisine, is very similar to the Spanish one. We share a language, of course, but also a lot of customs, historical phrases and similarities that unite us more than may seem possible at first glance. And although our cuisines are not alike, we do share a lot of ingredients, as does most of the civilised world, thanks to the Spaniards who brought them back to the Old World. One of these ingredients is the “jitomate” or tomato, and it’s the base for the chilaquiles sauce.
You can make the sauce with either red or green “jitomates”. In this case, I made it with red tomatoes and paprika and chili peppers, another ingredient originating in the Americas.
This dish should be spicy, however, as I do not tolerate spicy foods very well, please adjust this to your liking.
And to make this dish Paleo-friendly, I made it with Paleo Tortillas/Crepes, which are delicious, easy to make and great to have on hand to use in Mexican dishes, as a crepe or even in the German Pancake soup, something I’ll be trying next with the extra tortillas/crepes that I have in the freezer!
- 12 red or green tomatoes, cut in half
- 2 paprika peppers, rinsed and remove the stem and seeds
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 small guindillas, or dried chili peppers
- filtered water, if necessary
- olive oil
- 2 Mexican tortillas, cut into triangular pieces
- 4 eggs
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1-1 1/2 cups of chopped cilantro, plus some extra for garnishing
- lime juice
- White Mexican cheese or goat’s cheese
- 1 medium, ripe avocado, diced
- Preheat oven to 200C (approx. 390F).
- Place the tomatoes (cut side down) and the paprika peppers in an oven proof dish.
- Roast on the upper tray for about 40 minutes, turning over the peppers, about half way through.
- (If your dish is not large enough, like mine is not, you’ll have to do this in two times.)
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- Peel the tomatoes and peppers and place the pulp into the electric blender or food processor.
- Add the garlic cloves, cilantro and the guindillas/chili peppers and blend until smooth.
- Add some filtered water if the paste is too thick. You want to achieve a smooth tomato sauce that is not liquid, however.
- Set aside.
- In a frying pan, heat about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Saute the tortilla pieces, just long enough to warm up and stiffen a bit.
- Add the tomato sauce over top and mix well.
- Crack the eggs over the mixture and cook over medium heat, until the eggs are done to your liking.
- Serve onto plates.
- Garnish with chopped onion, more cilantro, Mexican white cheese (or goat’s cheese), and diced avocado and a drizzle of lime juice.
- Serve immediately.