Recipe: French Huevos rancheros

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 tsp of vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup diced onions
• a big pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup of diced green chilies
• jalapeno and Fresno chilies
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp oregano
• 14.5-oz diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of water
• salt and cayenne pepper
• 2 eggs
• cheese

Instructions

Step 1

Transcript: Huevos Rancheros
Hi, I'm Chef John Mitzewich for About.com. Today I'm going to show you how to make the classic Mexican breakfast, huevos rancheros - eggs in the style of the ranch. Of course the most important ingredient will be our ranchero sauce.

Step 2

Authentic Ranchero Sauce
I have it on good authority that the best ranchero sauces are made with roasted tomatoes, so to get that flavor here is a great trick. We're going to take 1 tbsp of tomato paste and 1 tsp of vegetable oil, and over medium heat we're going to brown the tomato paste and that's going to give you a roasted tomato flavor.

Then add 2 tbsp vegetable oil, a 1/2 cup diced onions, and a big pinch of salt. We're going to saute that on medium low heat for about 5 minutes until the onions begin to soften. The salt is going to draw out the water in the onions and will deglaze all those beautiful roasted tomato juices.

While that's cooking we're going to need 2/3 cup of any kind of diced green chilies. Any combination of hot or sweet will work. I have jalapeno and Fresno chilies. We're going to stir into the tomato mixture and saute that for another 5 minutes. Then add 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp oregano, and give that a stir, and that is ready for the liquid ingredients.

Step 3

Finish the Ranchero Sauce
We're going to add one can, 14.5-oz diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water. Bring that to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, and that is a really nice, fresh ranchero sauce. You can serve it like this, nice and chunky, very traditional, or you can a stick blender (or regular on) and pulse it a few time to get a smoother sauce. Make sure you taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and cayenne pepper for more heat.

Step 4

Warm Tortillas
To complete this we're going to serve this on some fried tortillas. I like to heat them in a pan with a few drops of oil - put a slice of cheese in between the two tortillas, and lightly brown on both sides. This makes a really nice base, like a quesadilla.

Step 5

Cook the Huevos
Then cook 2 eggs, any style, sunny-side-up is traditional, but anything will work. Once done, put that on the tortilla.

Step 6

Serve the Huevos Rancheros
The sauce needs to be very hot, and I'm going to stir in a couple tablespoons of chopped cilantro, that's up to you. Then spoon the hot, boiling ranchero sauce over the soft yolks. And, that is an amazing breakfast.

Step 7

When you are looking at a long, hard day on the ranch, what you want is a really hearty, delicious breakfast to get you started right. I could eat this in front of you, but that would be sadistic. Huevos rancheros - I hope you give it a try. Enjoy!