Chilaquiles Rojos/ Red Chilaquiles

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Chilaquiles is one of my favorite breakfast dishes. It is also a very popular one in Mexico. There are many ways to prepare chilaquiles but they all start with this, corn tortillas and salsa. My favorite chilaquiles are red and I like to add toppings like a fried egg or queso fresco, sweet Mexican cream and avocado. Perfection. So, what do you do when you’re by yourself at home, on a rainy day wondering what are you going to eat? You open your fridge, see some old corn tortillas and…it’s done. Chilaquiles!

My grandmother used to make a mix between chilaquiles and migas. Migas is short for migajas, which means scraps or left overs. The difference between migas and chilaquiles is that you make migas scrambling eggs and fried tortilla scraps, while chilaquiles are bigger pieces of fried tortillas cover with green or red salsa. My grandmother used to simmer tiny pieces of old tortillas in red salsa, so it wasn’t migas and It wasn’t quite chilaquiles either. My grandmother has been gone for 14years now and I still crave her migas. Nobody makes them like she used to make them. I think It was her way to season, she gave everything her special touch, she made the simplest food taste so comforting, it would warm you up inside. Oh, I miss you so much, guelita.

So today I am sharing with you my recipe for classic chilaquiles. I like to make them when I notice my tortillas are getting a little hard on the edges, that means they’re chilquiles ready. I don’t deep fry mine, I try to stay away from fried foods because they normally give me heart burn (yes, I’m getting old) but I am going to show you how to get crispy, and super tasty chilaquiles using the littlest amount of fat. You will feel better about eating them and if you’re like me, you will also feel good after eating them. I am using red sauce, it’s the basic tomato sauce you use for most mexican dishes. While many people like their chilaquiles hot, mine are not. My grandmother used to make them mild and tomatoey, she didn’t use peppers and I love it that way. Get my recipe for the basic tomato sauce here. 

Make sure your salsa is hot. You can simmer it for a couple of minutes on  a sauce pan or microwave it. You’ll need about a cup of sauce. Get the recipe here. 


First, I put my skillet on high heat for a couple of minutes. I have four yellow corn tortillas. I prefer yellow but white is perfectly fine. I cut cross wise with a knife in eight pieces.
Once my skillet is very hot, I spray it generously with avocado oil (any cooking spray will do) and put my tortillas on it. This time I spray the top of my tortillas as well. let them undisturbed on high heat for a couple of minutes before you start turning them over, this will help them to get chard and crispy.
See what’s happening? This is after turning them a couple of times, you just want to make sure they are cooking evenly. You can turn your heat to low now. 
This is going to happen really fast. Pour the tomato sauce over your tortillas. You don’t want to let the tortillas simmer in the sauce, you want to keep them crispy. Let the sauce cook with the tortillas for just one minute and transfer to a plate.
These are four tortillas so, technically is two servings. But…I was at home all by myself, I had to sacrifice and eat the whole thing. I wasn’t In the mood for eggs (weird) but you can top this with a couple of fried eggs and it’ll be a perfect breakfast for two. Have fun with it! Add as many toppings as you want. Here’s what I like on mine…
Crumbled queso fresco, Mexican cream, onions and avocados. Yum! 

On to the recipe!  

About

Hello, my name is Marisol Chancellor. I was born and raised in Monterrey Mexico. I’ve been living in Texas for 12 years and even when I love barbeque, fruit cobblers and sweet tea, there’s something that has the power of transporting me right back to my mom’s kitchen and gives me a little piece of home, cooking. I grew up in the kitchen and for me, memories are always linked to food, and behind the food, well, there’s always a story that comes along. So, please let me share with you my love for cooking and while we are at it, let’s share some memories, because let’s be honest, we are also hungry for nostalgia.

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