The Supermarket Gourmet

by Buck Reed

Mexican Breakfast

This past weekend, I developed a new pet peeve. At one of my favorite restaurants, where the corporation rules, they offered one of my favorite dishes: Shrimp and Grits. Obviously, when they wrote their menu with the words “Creole sauce,” having worked on the Delta Queen out of New Orleans, I know what these words meant, but I am certain they did not. I get it, these are common terms—Creole, Cajun, and so forth—and maybe it doesn’t mean anything anymore. But my point is that, as a professional chef, I owe it to my client, my boss, and myself to make sure I understand these terms and, more importantly, the dish itself. So, let’s talk about Mexican food. I know, tough segue, but stick with me, by the time I finish this article, I will figure this out.

I am always up for learning new techniques, different types of food, and different dishes. I am also interested in authentic Hispanic cuisine. Most everything in the U.S. is actually so Americanized that it’s almost unrecognizable to our neighbors in the South. Doing a little research, I found that one of the most popular Mexican breakfast dishes is not a breakfast taco or burrito, but a dish called Chilaquiles. This dish looks like the catchall of breakfasts—an elegant brunch item, hangover food, or something you might throw together quickly for guests. Basically, these are nachos on steroids, baked into a casserole.

First, you take fried tortillas. Corn tortillas are more common, but you can use flour tortillas. Next, is the sauce. You can go traditionally with red sauce or make it green with verde sauce. For the red sauce, you can use salsa, cut with a bit of V8 juice; or an enchilada sauce; or you can find a recipe and work it from scratch.

Putting it together, you toss the chips in the sauce and get it in the oven. The goal here is to allow the chips to soak up the sauce. Once good and hot, top it with a couple of eggs, cooked any way you want. I might suggest making a nest of the chips and sauce, cracking raw eggs over the dish, and then baking it together until the egg is cooked to your desired doneness. Think “eggs in Purgatory” and don’t skimp on the sauce. Bonus one: fewer pans to clean.

Garnish this dish with almost anything. Sour cream is good, sliced raw onions, pickled radishes, avocado (sliced) or guacamole, cheese (almost any kind), jalapenos, green onions…really, use your creativity.

This dish has a lot of wiggle room as to what you can do with it. It packs a spicy flavor with a “wake me up” factor that is difficult to match. Make it at home or order it when you see it on the menu—before the corporate shoemakers screw it up. I don’t understand how, but I assure you they will! (It should also be noted that after writing this article, I realized you can write anything you want in the first paragraph as long as you tie it all together in the last paragraph!)