Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros

A classic Mexican breakfast of fried eggs on lightly crisped corn tortillas, smothered in a warm tomato-chilli salsa and served with refried beans. The runny yolk mingles with the tangy sauce for a hearty, comforting plate.

Prep

15 min

Cook

25 min

Total

40 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •4 whole corn tortillas, about 15 cm / 6 in diameter, fresh if possible
• •4 whole eggs, large
• •60 ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil, for frying tortillas and eggs
• •400 g (14 oz) ripe tomatoes, about 4 medium, or one 400 g / 14 oz tin of whole peeled tomatoes
• •2 whole serrano chillies, or 1 jalapeño for milder heat, stemmed
• •1 small white onion, about 100 g / 3½ oz, one thick ring reserved for frying, rest roughly chopped
• •2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• •1 sprig fresh coriander, plus extra leaves to finish
• •1 pinch dried oregano, Mexican oregano if available, else common oregano
• •400 g (14 oz) refried beans, home-made or tinned; see note
• •60 g (2 oz) queso fresco, crumbled; feta is the closest substitute
• •1 tsp salt, to taste, plus more for the tomatoes
• •1 tbsp neutral oil, for warming the beans, optional

Steps

1. 1 Char the salsa vegetables: hold the tomatoes, serrano chillies, unpeeled garlic cloves and the thick onion ring over a gas flame (or under a hot grill), turning with tongs, until blistered and blackened in patches, about 6–8 minutes. Alternatively, dry-fry them in a hot comal or heavy frying pan, turning, until charred. This step gives the salsa its smoky ranch flavour.
2. 2 Peel the charred garlic. Put the tomatoes, chillies, garlic, charred onion ring and the coriander sprig in a blender. Add ½ tsp salt and the oregano. Blitz to a coarse, pourable sauce - not completely smooth. If the tomatoes are very juicy, hold back some liquid so the salsa stays saucy rather than watery.
3. 3 Warm 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Pour in the blended salsa (it will splutter) and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8–10 minutes until it darkens slightly, thickens and the raw edge is gone. Taste and adjust salt. Keep warm on the lowest heat.
4. 4 Warm the refried beans in a small pan with a splash of water or oil over medium-low heat, stirring, until hot and spreadable, about 4–5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.
5. 5 Fry the tortillas: pour about 1 cm / ½ in of oil into a frying pan and heat to 180 °C / 350 °F. Slide in one tortilla at a time and fry 30–45 seconds per side, until flexible but just firm at the edges - do not let them turn hard or toasty-crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm. (Traditionally the tortillas are only lightly fried so they soften under the salsa.)
6. 6 In the same pan with about 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat, crack in the eggs, a couple at a time, and fry sunny-side up for 2–3 minutes, until the whites are fully set and opaque but the yolks are still runny. The white should not be translucent at all. Season with a pinch of salt. If you prefer them cooked through, flip and cook 30 seconds more.
7. 7 To serve: lay two fried tortillas on each warm plate, top each with a fried egg, spoon the hot salsa generously over the eggs and tortillas, and scatter with crumbled queso fresco and coriander leaves. Spoon the refried beans alongside.