Chilaquiles Rojos

Method

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1. Put the guajillo and ancho chillies in a dry frying pan over medium heat and toast them for 20 seconds on each side, until they smell fragrant and darken slightly. Tip them into a bowl, cover with boiling water and soak for 15 minutes.

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2. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, white onion and garlic in a saucepan with 100 ml of water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have collapsed.

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3. Drain the chillies. Blend them with the tomato mixture and its liquid, the stock and the 1 teaspoon of salt until completely smooth. Pass the salsa through a sieve if you want it silky.

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4. Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in the same saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour in the salsa all at once, standing back because it will spit, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until it darkens and thickens to a pourable sauce that coats a spoon. Taste and adjust the salt, then keep it hot over low heat.

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5. Cut each tortilla into 6 wedges. Pour about 300 ml of the oil into a 26 cm frying pan, to a depth of 5 mm, and heat it over medium-high heat until a wedge sizzles at once. Fry the wedges in 6 batches of about 12 for 1 to 2 minutes each, until golden and crisp, and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with the salt.

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6. Wipe out the pan, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil for the eggs and fry the eggs until the whites are set and the yolks still run.

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7. Turn the heat under the salsa up to medium. Tip the chips into the salsa and fold them through for 30 seconds, just until every wedge is coated.

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8. Divide the chilaquiles between 4 warm plates. Top each with a fried egg, crema, queso fresco, red onion, avocado and coriander and eat at once.

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Chef’s Tips

• Use tortillas that are a day or two old. They are drier, they fry crisp and they take up less oil than fresh ones.
• Simmer the salsa until it coats a spoon before the chips go in. A thin salsa turns the wedges to mush in seconds.
• Fold the chips in for 30 seconds and serve. The dish is at its best while the centres of the wedges are still crisp.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• A pinch of dried chilli flakes works in place of fresh chilli — start with about a third of the quantity the chillies in the list implies, since dried chilli is more concentrated, and add more to taste.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.
• Vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock makes this meat-free without changing the method, if that is what you need.

Pairing Suggestions

• Refried beans
• A glass of horchata
• Fresh orange juice

Storage & Reheating

Best eaten straight away. Keep the salsa in the fridge up to 4 days and the chips in an airtight tin for 2 days, and combine them fresh.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.