Expletives were heard the last time I served this. The phrase ‘your new crack‘ as well. And while it is a breakfast dish, you can have it any time of day. I certainly do. It’s a killer late night dish, for instance, after an extra long day at work or, well, whatever you’ve been doing late night.

I give you my Skillet Chilaquiles, a bastardized, easy version of the traditional Mexican breakfast. 

True chilaquiles are tortillas sautéed in a spicy red or green sauce, often with shredded chicken mixed in. Fried eggs sometimes are served on top. Given my obsession with eggs, it’s no wonder I devised this version over the years using eggs as the actual sauce. What you end up with are tortillas, still a bit crispy, coasted with a luscious sheen of eggs, cheese and chilis. 

Try it once and, like me, you will start keeping all the ingredients on hand.

SKILLET CHILAQUILES 

(serves 4… you can easily halve the recipe)

Ingredients

1 small onion (red, white or sweet) diced

2 fresno chilis, sliced into thin half moons (see note below)

Cumin seed (or ground cumin but seed is better)

1 4oz can diced green chilis

dried oregano

10 eggs

Dijon mustard

creme fraiche

tortilla chips (see note below)

Mexican blend shredded cheese

Directions

– Saute onion and Fresno chilis in a pad butter and a glug or two of olive oil on medium low. Take some time with this, get them soft and lovely. Turn the heat down if they start bubbling too much. You want them soft, not brown and crispy.

– Add the diced green chili with a couple of easy shakes of cumin seed and a few easy shakes of dried oregano. Saute’ on low another 5 minutes or so.

– While the veg is sautéing, prepare your eggs:

– In  large bowl, put a dollop of dijon mustard and a dollop of creme fraiche (or a glut of heavy whipping cream)… you won’t even know they’re there but they add great umami flavor. (Thanks to my buddy Christian Kline, a wonderful chef, for the mustard trick. I never scramble eggs without a dollop of mustard after he taught me this.) Whisk the two together, then crack your eggs into the bowl, add salt and whisk well. 

– When the veg is sautéed lovely and soft, add 1 large handful of tortilla chips per person. Toss and turn the chips with the veg until the chips are covered with fat and veg.

– Pour eggs into the skillet and begin to toss and turn the eggs and chips, slow cooking the eggs and coating the chips with the egg mixture. While you don’t have to toss and turn the whole time, be careful not to let the eggs harden on the bottom. Just keep tossing. It’s okay if the chips break a little.

– After a minute or so, add two handfuls of the cheese. Continue to toss and turn until the cheese is melted and your eggs are cooked. I like my eggs soft! But you can cook longer if, you know, you want to ruin them.

– Serve topped with another dollop of Creme Fraiche (or Mexican Crema or sour cream.) Sliced avocado is another good topping, as is your favorite hot sauce or salsa. 

NOTES:

Fresno chilis have become my favorite. A red version of Jalapeños, they are milder with a much better flavor. In a pinch you can use Jalapeños, but try to find Fresnos. Remember that the seeds are what give the heat so if you don’t like heat, don’t add the seeds. The cheese and creme fraiche, however, temper the heat quite a bit.

You can use fresh tortillas. Just cut them into small triangles and add the tortillas at the start with the onion and chili.

This dish has lots of variations. Add chorizo, bacon or sausage if you like. You could mix some chilis in adobo sauce into the eggs as well. I myself love these topped with homemade tomatillo salsa.