Chilaquiles Verdes

Where This Goes Wrong

Use thick, sturdy chips. Thin ones dissolve into mush before they reach the table.

Sixty seconds in the salsa, maximum. Chilaquiles are not nachos and they are not a casserole.

For chilaquiles rojos, swap the tomatillos for roasted tomatoes and rehydrated guajillo chillies.

Making Chilaquiles Verdes

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1. Heat a dry heavy pan or comal over high heat. Char the tomatillos, chillies, onion and unpeeled garlic for 8 to 10 minutes, turning, until blackened in patches and softened.

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2. Peel the garlic and blend everything with the coriander and salt until smooth but not aerated.

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3. Heat the oil in a wide pan until shimmering, then pour in the salsa all at once — it will spit violently, so stand back.

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4. Fry the salsa for 5 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and thickens, then add the stock and simmer 8 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt.

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5. Fry the eggs in a separate pan until the whites are set and the yolks still run.

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6. Bring the salsa back to a simmer, then take it off the heat and fold in the tortilla chips with a spatula, coating them thoroughly.

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7. Let them stand for no more than 60 seconds, then divide between warm plates.

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8. Top each plate with a fried egg, crema, queso fresco, red onion, avocado, coriander and pickled jalapeños. Eat immediately.

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After You've Cooked It

Assembled chilaquiles must be eaten straight away. The salsa keeps 5 days refrigerated and freezes 3 months.

Swaps and Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• Vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock makes this meat-free without changing the method, if that is what you need.

What to Serve Alongside

• Refried beans on the side
• Strong black coffee or café de olla
• A michelada, if it is that kind of morning

What's in a Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: an ingredient listed without an amount is not counted, so the figures run low; part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.