Huevos Verde

Most people who are into Mexican food have heard of Huevos Rancheros. Eggs and tortillas and salsa Rancheros, a bit of cheese and maybe some onions and jalapenos. With or without beans, refried or otherwise. Yo quiero some-of-that!

Some years back, I had a hankering (Southern to English dictionaries define this as a strong desire) for something spicy for breakfast, but I didn’t have any salsa on hand, or red chili sauce for that matter. But I did have some salsa verde, and that got me to thinking. Next thing you know, I’d come up with an idea for Huevos Verde. I had an avocado and that was green, so I decided to use that, too. That made it Extra Healthy, and I added the points to my tally card and dove in.

It wasn’t until many years later that I learned I was not the first one to figure this out. But, hey! It’s still my own recipe, so I’m a Happy Boy! You can adjust the recipe to make it as mild or as hot as you like. You can even adjust the heat for each person served. Some folks like to serve potatoes of some sort as a side. I prefer to omit that and leave room for more of those lovely eggs and salsa verde. But, that’s just me. Go with what moves you.

By the way, food coloring notwithstanding, this is as close as you can safely get to Green Eggs (which is what the name means). Green ham? I wouldn’t if I were you. Seriously.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
Tortillas
2-3 eggs
Salsa Verde
Refried beans
Avocado
Limes

Optional:
Chopped onions
Sliced or chopped jalapeno peppers
Cilantro
Shredded cheese
Sour cream

Instructions:

Chop anything that needs chopping – meaning onions, jalapenos and cilantro, if you’re using them.

Cut avocado in half. Remove pit, then peel. Cut into slices.

Cut limes into wedges.

Warm refried beans and set aside.

Heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add a little olive oil and heat until it shimmers.

Heat another frying pan – this one large enough to hold your eggs without touching each other – over medium heat. Add oil and heat until it shimmers.

Crack your eggs into second frying pan and cook to desired doneness. (Normally, this is sunny side up.) If necessary, use a spatula to keep eggs away from each other.

While eggs are cooking, fry tortillas one at a time. Fry on both sides, just until they begin to harden a little. NOT MUCH! Just a little. Then remove from pan, set aside and start another one. You should be able to prepare three or four tortillas while the eggs are frying.

Arrange tortillas on plate. Top with a smear of refried beans. Arrange avocado slices in a sunburst at edges of tortilla. Place eggs in center of tortillas.

Top eggs with salsa verde and any other toppings you like. Serve a dollop of sour cream on the side, if desired.

Serve immediately with lime wedges and warm tortillas with softened butter.

Notes:

The recipe as described allows you to make each plate to order, one at a time. If you have enough skillets to do a bunch of eggs at once and are comfortable doing so, you can do the tortillas before you start frying eggs. If so, preheat your oven to about 180-200°. Place a double layer of paper towels on baking sheets, then top with wire racks. Place fried tortillas on the racks in the oven. Remove as needed.

Instead of refried beans, you could use some of my Smooth and Creamy Bean Dip. You could also omit the beans all-together. I do this sometimes and serve black beans as a side.

If you don’t particularly care for fried eggs, no problem! I know lots of folks who do this one with scrambled eggs. You won’t lose points just for that.

By the way, the last photo was taken the last time I made this, which was about Too Long Ago. In addition to salsa verde, I also spooned some Green Chili Cream over the top.

There you go! Green Eggs… or as close as you’re going to get to them! Have fun, and…

Play with your food!

Lane

Check out more Mexican recipes here.

Check out more Breakfast recipes here.

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