Chilaquiles Rojas, Muy Bueno Cook Book Spotlight...

This recipe is the second one from my Muy Bueno cook book spotlight. Myself and another fifteen bloggers were given the opportunity to play with this book courtesy of our amazing host, Heather from Girlichef and Hippocrene books. Check out my first post here for the skinny on the three amazing ladies who form the Muy Bueno cooking blog, which focuses on authentic Mexican cuisine.

I had bookmarked a whole bunch of interesting recipes after I got my hands on a copy, but for this week I decided to make the Chilaquiles Rojos. Why?... because it has a small simple ingredients, easy to make, and looks like it would perform jiu-jitsu on your taste buds!! Saucy, spicy, crispy, chewy, cheesy are a few words I'd chuck out there to describe it and don't forget it's easy. It could even be kicked up by adding some ground beef or chicken and a handful of chopped jalapeno's and sliced avocado. The sauce is a little extra work but well worth it and you'll have extra leftover for some enchiladas!

The recipe from the book suggests using a large skillet for four servings so I'd assume maybe a nine inch pan, but since I was the only human at home today I decided to half the recipe. I used a six inch cast iron skillet and it was a perfect size, and after the pretty pictures were taken I sat my butt down and ate the whole pan for lunch. Veronica, one of the three Muy Bueno ladies describes how she loved having this meal for breakfast and suggests serving with eggs. I took her advice and plopped an egg on top of the chilaquiles, stuck it under the grill keeping it over easy and it was perfect!

Recipe for Chilaquiles Rojos from Muy Bueno:

Prep Time- 30 minutes    Cook Time- 10 minutes    Servings- 4

8 corn tortillas
1 Tablespoon canola oil
2 cups red chile sauce (recipe below)
1 cup shredded queso quesadilla or Colby cheese
1/3 cup diced green or red onions
4-8 eggs cooked any style

Cut the tortillas into quarters. In a large skillet, heat the oil and fry the tortilla pieces until crunchy. Lower the heat to low.

Add the red chile sauce and mix gently through the tortilla pieces. Top with the shredded cheese and cook until the cheese just starts to melt.

Remove from the heat and serve with your choice of eggs.


Cooks Note: I found it easier and quicker to melt the cheese under the broiler 



Recipe for Red Chile Sauce: (Makes 6-7 cups)

8 ounces red chile pods (Californian or New Mexico)
6 cups water
6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
4 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon salt

Remove the stems, seeds and veins from the chile pods. Rinse with cold water. Add the chiles to a pot and add enough water just to cover them.

Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 20 minutes. After 10 minutes turn the chiles over to cook evenly. Drain and cool.

In a blender, mix 3 cups of water, half of the cooked chile pods, 3 Tablespoons flour, 2 cloves garlic and half the salt.

Blend until smooth. Strain the sauce removing any seeds. Repeat this process with the rest of the ingredients and set aside to cool.

This post is part of the Muy Bueno cookbook spotlight and cook-off, sponsored by Hippocrene and hosted at Girlichef.