Poached Huevos Rancheros

Poached Huevos Rancheros
Serves 2
Can be doubled | Can be halved

This is one of our favorite meals of all time. Seriously, Scott and I eat this a lot! It’s fantastic for breakfast, but makes an equally good lunch or dinner. The combination of eggs, whole grain corn and beans provides great fuel for the body which is also quite easy to digest. If you like Mexican flavors this is going to be a new favorite in your recipe collection. You’ll need 3 pans on the stove (or you can use a microwave for the beans), and a bit of coordination and timing to get everything on the plate, but the extra effort is all worth it when you take that first bite!    ~ Susan

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 can of black beans
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup of your favorite salsa – try Shivani’s roasted salsa recipe!
1 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce
1/4 cup water
4 corn tortillas
1 heaping tablespoon shredded sharp cheddar – Cabot makes outstanding cheddars which are widely available, our favorite is the Racer’s Edge sharp cheddar – we love those Vermont cheeses!
sliced scallions for garnish

Instructions:

Fill a large non-stick skillet (or well seasoned cast iron skillet) with just enough water to poach the eggs (I like my yolks to stay bright yellow, so I poach in a shallow amount of water to keep the tops of the yolks from turning white). Turn on heat to get the water boiling.

Meanwhile, open the can of black beans, drain out a little bit of the liquid from the top. Add the cumin, salt & pepper directly into the can and stir well to combine. Put about 1 cup of black beans in a small pan (or microwave safe bowl) and heat just until hot. Set aside. Save the rest of bean mixture for another use.

Put the salsa, hot sauce and 1/4 cup water into a shallow wide saucepan, big enough to fit a corn tortilla without bending it. Stir the mixture together and turn on the heat. This is your “ranchero” sauce.

Crack 2 eggs at a time into a small dish and gently slide them into the poaching water. Repeat with remaining 2 eggs. Turn heat down to medium and let them cook for about 3-4 minutes, this will give you nicely poached eggs with slightly soft yolks.

While eggs cook, dip one corn tortilla into the warm salsa mixture, leave it in the sauce just for about 10 seconds, then use a wide spatula to transfer it to your plate. Repeat process with other tortillas, putting 2 tortillas on each plate, the second tortilla almost on top of the first one, but a little off center so they’re not completely stacked on on top of each other.

After you plate the sauced tortillas, you can put the heat up to high for a minute to “cook down” the sauce if you want it a little thicker. Divide the rest of the warm ranchero sauce over the tortillas. Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from poaching water and place 2 eggs atop each of the 2 tortillas. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the eggs. Spoon the beans onto the plates next to the eggs and tortillas, top with plenty of sliced scallions and dig in!

Serving Suggestions:

Breakfast – this needs nothing else, it’s a perfect meal to start your day.

Lunch or dinner – add a big salad (try lettuce with shaved red cabbage and grated carrots) to complete the meal.

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Roasted Tomato Salsa
Serves 4
Can Be Doubled| Can Be Halved| Makes Great Leftovers

Jarred salsa may be low in calories, but it’s loaded with sodium and other preservatives to keep it edible for as long as possible. Salsa is a staple in our house. It’s photographed here with chicken tacos (that recipe is coming next week), but we use well beyond Mexican dishes. It’s a super side accompaniment to scrambled eggs, as a dip with veggies or brown rice crackers, and believe it or not, it makes a great substitute for salad dressing. I confess that I relied on the jarred stuff up until a few years ago when a friend told me how easy it is to make my own. I’m not a fan of tons of chopping and am not that skilled at chopping vegetables finely the way a classic pice de gallo requires, but after experimenting with different recipes, I came up with my own that needs a minimal amount of chopping because it’s roasted in the oven. Now that we have our own recipe which uses no oil and where we can control the amount of salt, I will never go back to the grocery store version! If you’re a salsa fiend like me, I suggest making a big batch of this and keeping it in the fridge to use all week.     ~Shivani

Ingredients:

3 medium sized ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters (for a sweeter salsa, use a 16 ounce box of Campari tomatoes)
3 cloves of garlic, halved
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and halved longwise  or leave them in for a spicier salsa
2 medium red onions, cut into quarters
1 large handful of cilantro, finely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place the tomatoes, onions, garlic and jalapeno on a cookie sheet and season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 35 to 40 minutes.

Let cool and puree in food processor until smooth. For a chunkier salsa, don’t puree as much.

Stir in cilantro, and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Serving Suggestions:

It’s a must-have along with the black bean quesadillas I wrote about a few months ago but also works with any taco or burrito recipe. It’s also great with eggs.

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