huevos rancheros

As promised here is another recipe featuring queso fresco. I mentioned in a previous post that we’re experiencing a surplus of this unique cheese. Perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it is sold in a size-able wheel. I wanted to see how the cheese melted and, well, what better way than to make huevos rancheros. Sure one could make a quesadilla, or just stick said wheel in the microwave but there’s something dangerous about huevos ranchers, perhaps it’s the name or maybe even the runny egg. The problem however was that I couldn’t find that perfect huevos rancheros recipe. I found several recipes, but each of them different in some way.  The problem was they just were not how I imagined huevos rancheros. I wanted the egg runny – we like to live life on the edge. I also wanted the yolk of the egg to cook just a bit, and cheese, I wanted melty cheese. Finally, I wanted salsa verde, a spicy salsa verde. I suppose I was being picky, but I really just wanted all of these flavors and textures together in one corn tortilla-omelet mess.  Oh, and it was a mess…a delicious and satisfying mess.

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Huevos Rancheros

Serving Size: 2

2 corn tortillas
2 eggs
½ cup queso fresco
½ tomato cubed
cilantro
¼ cup salsa verde

Heat 1 corn tortilla at a time in a skillet. Lightly brown the tortilla one one side and then flip over, sprinkle cheese over the surface of the tortilla. Once the cheese begins to soften (it won’t melt the way cheddar does) crack an egg over the tortilla and cheese. Its okay if the egg white spills out over the tortilla – it’s just a part of the messiness of it all.

Once the egg begins to set, gently flip over. Once the yolk begins to set very very gently slide the spatula under the egg and (having a plate near by) flip the tortilla egg mess onto a plate – egg side up. Top with tomato, cilantro a bit more cheese and salsa verde.

Recipe notes: Like I mentioned – this is messy but totally worth it. Just so you’re prepared, the yolk may be break. If you’re worried about making a mess you could just cook the egg separately and then just place it on the heated tortilla. On my second attempt I just put a tortilla on top of the egg so that the egg and cheese were sandwiched in between tortillas. This decreased the mess significantly but also made the whole thing a lot more tortilla heavy. Finally, feel free to use cheddar or pepper jack cheese – I probably will in the future. A side of black beans would also be awesome.