Chilaquiles Rojos – The Anytime Meal
People say children have a ton of first memories, and I can certainly attest to that. One of my first food memories was the red chile laced fried corn tortilla pieces smothered in melty cheese that I had come to know as chilaquiles. For my single Mom who didn’t cook much this was a super easy traditional meal she could throw together in no time and get me fed. I celebrated the slightly spicy dish and could eat them morning, noon or night. If she served them at breakfast she would serve an egg on the side. I especially enjoyed chilaquiles served at lunch or dinner with a side of refried beans and a healthy dollop of crema…. Not much has changed, I still enjoy them anytime of day and eat them often.
As an adult who is making this delicious meal for my family there are several things I have come to discover about them: Chilaquiles are a reasonably priced dish for people who may be budget minded, they are one of the most traditional Mexican dishes celebrated both in Mexico and here in the U.S., and don’t take that long to prepare. Chilaquiles also make a fantastic vegetarian meal with Cacique® Quesadilla Jalapeño and Cacique® Cotija cheeses rounding the dish out and taking it to sublime status. The Crema Mexicana Agria accent is as essential as a compliment to the spicy chile sauce as is the fried corn tortilla pieces.
Make chilaquiles for your next meal.
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WHAT YOU NEED
- 12- corn tortillas (cut into 8 triangles per tortilla)
- 3/4 - cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 - cup red chile sauce
- 2/3 - cup grated Cacique® Queso Quesadilla Jalapeno
- 1/3 - cup crumbled Cacique® Cotija cheese
- 3 to 4 - tablespoons Cacique® Crema Mexicana Agria
- 1/8 - cup cilantro leaves
- Avocado
- For red chile sauce:
- 1/2 – large onion peeled (fried)
- 3 – garlic cloves peeled
- 1 – oz. new mexico dried chile
- 1 – oz. california dried chile
- 1 – large dried passilla chile
- 1/2 – tablespoons salt
HOW TO MAKE IT
- For red chile sauce: Fry onion and garlic cloves until golden brown. Set to the side. Boil red chiles until soft for 25 minutes. Place onion, garlic, red chiles (stems removed), and salt in a blender along with 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth. Remove from blender and strain through a sieve. Place to the side.
- In a large frying pan over medium flame add in vegetable oil and allow to get hot. Then add half the amount of tortilla pieces and fry on either side till crisp. Remove pieces from pan to drain on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with remaining tortilla pieces till all are fried and crisp. Set tortilla pieces to the side. If there is still a small amount of oil in the pan discard it.
- In the same pan add chopped onion and saute over a medium flame for a minute or two. Then add in the crisp tortilla pieces back into the pan and mix to incorporate the onion.
- Next pour your enchilada sauce over the top and mix well. Let them cook for a few minutes to dry out the sauce a little. Then top with Cacique® Quesadilla Jalapeno. Mix to incorporate and allow to completely melt in. Remove from pan and top with cotija, crema, and cilantro. Eat avocado on the side.
