Writing out this recipe was not fun. There are four different components here and although the instructions under each read “add all the ingredients to a bowl and toss”, it required a bit of uncharacteristic patience on my part to type out. The irony, since the dish itself comes together so easily.
Start with the tortillas since they benefit from at least 15 mins of resting time before you roll them out. Meanwhile get on with the rest of the components. Which, to be honest, won’t take you longer than 15 mins.
The beans are black beans from a can. You can, of course, replace them with kidney beans which is what I often do. In such a case, I plan ahead – dried beans get soaked overnight and pressure cooked the following day.
I’ve done chilli oil with za’atar and paprika before and here’s my take on a Mexican version. The chipotle butter takes inspiration from that glorious chilli butter from Turkish eggs and the Mexican classic, salsa macha—the nutty condiment from Veracruz that has nuts, chillies, vinegar and sesame seeds. Chipotles add a distinct smokiness and depth here. But if you don’t have any on hand don’t let that stop you from making this dish – it’ll still be great with just chilli flakes.
HUEVOS RANCHEROS WITH CHIPOTLE BUTTER
Ingredients
Flour tortillas (makes 10):
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Refried beans:
- 400 g can of black beans or kidney beans (see notes)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon chilli powder
- Salt, to taste
Salsa:
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- ½ a green chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
- ½ an onion, finely chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons lime juice
- Small handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
- Salt, to taste
Chipotle butter:
- 2 chipotle chillies (or 2 teaspoons chilli flakes)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 20 grams butter
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Others:
- 4 fried eggs
- 25 grams feta cheese
Instructions
- First make the tortilla dough as it needs time to rest: combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Add boiling water a little at a time and stir with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms.
- Tip the dough out onto your kitchen counter. Knead for 5-7 mins until soft, adding more flour or water if necessary. Set aside to rest for at least 15 mins.
- Refried beans: drain and rinse the beans. Add all the ingredients to a pan and cook until they warm through. Add a little water and coarsely mash the beans.
- Salsa: add all the ingredients to a bowl and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Chipotle butter: blend the chillies to a coarse powder. Melt butter and olive oil in a small pan and add all the other ingredients to it. Take off the heat and swirl it around for a few seconds.
- To make the torillas: pinch off golf ball sized pieces of dough. I got 10 from this amount, but it doesn’t matter if they’re bigger or smaller. Roll each out into a thin tortilla adding a little flour if necessary (there’s enough oil in the dough to prevent it from sticking even without the flour).
- Cook the tortillas on a hot pan without adding any oil. Stack them one on top of the other as you continue. This will keep them softer.
- To assemble: spread some refried beans on a tortilla. Top with a fried egg and salsa. Drizzle over some of the chipotle butter. Add a sprinkling of feta over the top and serve warm.
Leave a Reply