Lindsay 17 September 2009 Challenging Entree, Vegetarian 948 views 2 Comments Print This Post  Email This Post

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Good With: Chips & Salsa, Pico de Gallo, Bean dishes
Prep Time: >10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Cost: About 66¢ per serving

After we had chilaquiles at a Chicago mexican restaurant called El Jardin (The Garden), we knew we wanted to try to make it. It’s a great way to use up extra tortillas, cheese and eggs. It’s not the healthiest item we’ve ever made… but it’s definitely not a bad meal considering a) the price and b) the comfort factor. This meal warms you right up (especially if you’re a hot sauce afficionado…).

Ingredients

Makes: 4 servings

15 6″ tortillas
1 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. chopped onion (any color)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. salt
1/2 can “Mexican Style Hot Sauce” (it exists)
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. cheese

Preparation Instructions

1. In a large pan or skillet, heat up the vegetable oil. The original recipe states that 350°F, which is probably a good idea, but we wouldn’t know because we don’t have a candy thermometer. Unfortunately, we had to guess, and we both feel that this was the beginning of the end of our chilaquiles. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW YOUR OIL TEMP! Anyway, once it’s heated, add the tortilla strips and fry them until they’re “crisp & golden”. If your oil isn’t hot enough, it will soak into the tortillas and they’ll be rubbery and wet instead of crisp and golden. Once fried, remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel (or two), and drain the skillet. We poured the oil into a Pyrex measuring glass. Leave only a thin layer of oil in the skillet.

2. Put the tortillas back into the lightly oiled skillet, and stir in the eggs. Season with salt. Cook until eggs are firm.

3. Add the mexican hot sauce (found in a can, ours was called “El Pato”) and water, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add cheese on top, any good melting kind, and eat.

Yaaargh!: Man, we really had an interesting experience with this dish. First of all, as I mentioned, we had no idea how warm our oil was an, when it wasn’t hot enough, all it completely saturated all our tortillas strips with oil. There was less frying, and more… braising in oil. Not healthy, not good. Then, when we used the Mexican Hot Sauce – because the cans were so tiny – we used the entire thing, which probably amounted to a cup, instead of the 1/2 cup requirement. It was extremely hot, extremely saucy, and extremely incorrect, as far as we’re concerned. Stay tuned for Chilaquiles #2!