Huevos Rancheros with Cooked Salsa

A weekday morning off work means a big breakfast. In my fridge I found three eggs, one flour tortilla, shredded Tex-Mex cheese and some left over homemade salsa. Perfect ingredients for a quick, simple Huevos Racheros.

Huevos Racheros means country-style eggs in Spanish and is a traditional breakfast dish in Mexico. Typically Huevos is made with lightly fried corn tortillas topped with fried eggs and cooked salsa. Some versions include a layer of refried beans or avocado. I add cheese to mine, just because. If you don't have time to make your own salsa, canned salsa works just as well!

Serves 2-4

Cooked Salsa:
splash olive oil
1/2 large white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chilies (or two green chili peppers, seeded and diced)
1/2 green pepper and 1/2 red pepper, diced (optional)
pinch sucanat
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder
handful fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped (reserved)
salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a saute pan. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and stir.

2. Add tomatoes, chili pepper and bell pepper. Add all seasonings. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from heat. Stir in chopped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Huevos:

4 small flour or corn tortillas
4 eggs
splash of olive oil plus olive oil cooking spray
1 cup prepared salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheddar, jack or Tex Mex cheese blend
1 can refried beans (optional)
1 avocado, peeled, cored, sliced (optional)
fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat olive oil in non-stick saute pan. Add tortillas to pan and heat for a minute on each side. Arrange tortillas on serving plates.

3. Spray the same pan with olive oil cooking spray. Crack eggs into the pan (sunny side up style). Cook until desired yolk "done-ness" is reached (about 4 minutes for runny yolks). After two minutes of cooking, I covered my pan with a lid and cooked the eggs for another 4 minutes for semi-firm yolks.

4. If using refried beans, spread a thin layer of beans on each tortilla.

5. Remove eggs from pan and place one egg on each tortilla. Top with some cooked salsa and shredded cheese.

6. Slide plates into the oven and bake for a few minutes to melt cheese. Remove from oven and garnish with sliced avocado and chopped cilantro.