"Eggs Benedict" Mexican-Style... or Poached Egg on Hash browns with Guajillo Chile Salsa

"Eggs Benedict" Mexican-Style.... or Poached Egg on Hash browns with Salsa Roja. I think I just invented a new dish... well, sort of. I admit this dish was mostly inspired, though the finishing touch was my own personal attempt at creating a dish I had never had or made made before... In the process, I named the dish, "Eggs Benedict Mexican-style". It's my new favorite brunch dish, as it's so much healthier than the classic Eggs Benedict... which I allow myself on rare occasions. Actually, this could very well be my signature dish.... because, nowadays, everyone has to have a personal signature dish:). But seriously, I'll have to give credit where credit is due...

After making a couple of Rick Bayless's salsas, from his book Mexican Everyday, I happened to leaf through some of his other recipes. As a side note in his book, he mentioned a breakfast dish he and his wife had made... in celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary. It was a simple dish consisting of some hash browns smeared with a bit of guacamole, topped with a poached egg, and a sprinkling of some chopped cilantro. So simple, that I wondered why I had never thought of it. Oh, I'll make breakfast using hash browns, eggs, and guacamole or salsa. But to put them together like he did, well, I'll be honest.... I never thought of it before.

So that's when I got inspired to make his dish... just like he mentioned it in his book. It sounded so good to me, that I knew I'd make it. And because I had just made his salsa roja, an idea came to me. Why not make Mexican-style eggs benedict? That's where my dish differs a bit from Rick Bayless's.... the addition of the salsa roja. The salsa makes the dish that much better(in my opinion).... and it mimics the classic eggs benedict. Pretty unique, I thought.

The mexican-style version is also much lighter in calories, is gluten-free, and.... well, it's different. I have to say this was a winner of a recipe for us! We loved it....and it made our Saturday morning breakfast so much better. Will be making the dish again.... made it again, and loved it just as much:). Hope you enjoy...

Note: While you can use store-bought hash browns, salsa, and guacamole, you can also make your own, as I did. Just click on the ingredient list, and the links will take you to the recipes I made some time ago.

You will need:

Homemade hash browns

Homemade guacamole

Poached eggs

Homemade Salsa Roja(Guajillo chile salsa)

Fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Make guacamole and set aside.

2. Make hash browns and keep warm.

3. Poach eggs.

4. Place hash browns on individual serving plate, smear about 1 TBS guacamole and place poached egg on top.

5. Pour some salsa roja( add to taste, as the salsa is a bit tangy... but I like tangy:)) on top of poached egg, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.... you may want to have the salsa roja at room temp, or a bit warmer.

Basic Red Chile Sauce...great for enchiladas,burritos, tamales,etc,

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Basic Red Chile Sauce...great for enchiladas, burritos, tamales, soft tacos, etc,

A couple of months ago my husband and I had the opportunity to visit both of our families who actually live in a different state. We often get invited over for dinner... be it either at my husband's side of the family or mine...many times both. But one evening, my sister and brother-in-law invited us over for dinner before we headed back home. I knew she would go above and beyond when preparing the meal.

So I wasn't surprised when I entered the house and smelled the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen. She had planned a Mexican dinner for us....and most everything was cooked from scratch! I watched as she placed the dishes on the table and before we sat down, the dinner table was filled to the max. There were some beef enchiladas topped with homemade chile verde cheese sauce and a vibrant red chile sauce. At one end of the table, she had placed some warm and soft corn tortillas... neatly stacked in a tortilla warmer. There were plenty of condiments for making your own soft taco...including a sour cream mango sauce, fresh cilantro, onion, and chipotle hot sauce. And that wasn't all...she included some refried black beans, rice, guacamole and various salsas as well. The meal was incredibly good and memories still linger... In any case, I asked her for the red chile sauce recipe as it sounded much simpler than the one( awesome chile sauce) I had posted some time ago. She gladly gave it to me...

The sauce is a great alternative to store-bought enchilada sauce. But it really comes in handy for all sorts of dishes... from seasoning some beef or chicken for soft tacos, to using it for burritos, tamales, taquitos or even in homemade chili. The sauce is great as is, but you can easily add your own spin to it. Try adding some oregano, garlic or onion... or even varying the types of chiles you use. Add a bit of heat or leave it mild.

The recipe is definitely a keeper...made with basic ingredients. The nice thing about it is that you can always store some dried chiles in your pantry and whip up the sauce in no time. I ended up making some quick baked "taquitos" as I had some shredded beef I wanted to use....later on I made some simple beef burritos which I topped with some of the red chile sauce. But feel free to use the sauce however you like. Hope you enjoy...

Note:You can see a list of dried chiles and substitutions here...Dried Chiles

You will need: you will probably get about 4 cups(+/-) of sauce

15 dried mild red chile pods(Guajillo, New Mexico, California or Pasilla chiles)*

4-5 cups stock( or water, though I use homemade chicken stock )

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2 TBS oil

2 TBS flour

1 TBS cumin

1 TBS salt( or to taste... do lower(or omit) the amount of salt, if you are using broth)

1 TBS tomato paste( optional...I don't use)

* I used 13 mild California chiles, a Peruvian Aji Panca, and an Ancho, just to vary the flavor....I couldn't find the guajillo, which I preferred.

Directions:

1. Wash chiles, remove stems( if you want, the seeds as well) and place in a stock pot.

2. Add stock( or water , if using) and bring to boil.

3. Bring to boil, lower heat and cook for about 15 minutes.

4. Let cool and place everything in a blender.

5. Blend till smooth and strain through sieve(I omit the straining).

6. Heat oil in a saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook on high till flour browns a bit, but do not let it burn.

7. Stir in red chile sauce, cumin, salt and tomato paste(if using).

8. Reduce heat and simmer on low for 5- 10 minutes( you might need to cover the pot, as the sauce can splatter a bit...at least that is what I experienced:)).

Making a few "taquitos" with a bit of the chile sauce: a quick idea, though you can substitute the beef with shredded chicken ...or use the sauce to top off burritos, make tamales, etc.

I had some shredded beef that I cooked in a pressure cooker with some onion, carrots, garlic and spices for about 45 minutes or so. I shredded the meat and placed it in the food processor. I used a few short pulses to process the meat a tiny bit more. I added some chile sauce to some of the meat ... to taste.

I ended up brushing a soft-taco sized tortilla with a bit of olive oil ...and cut it in 4 pieces( since I found that rolling the whole tortilla was a bit too thick). I decided to make some small appetizer-size baked "taquitos" by placing about a tablespoon of seasoned beef on a quarter of a flour tortilla and topping the beef with some queso fresco cheese. I then rolled it up securing the "taquitos"( 2 at a time) with a toothpick. Baked them at 350 or so until golden brown... being careful to watch them, as the edges tend to want to burn. Served it with guacamole. A nice change from the deep-fried versions.

The "taquitos" can easily be assembled, frozen, and baked later.

Another simple way of using the red chile sauce is over any burrito...beef, chicken or bean. Add a few tablespoons of sauce, some shredded cheese and heat till cheese is melted. Top with cilantro and white onion ...and for extra heat add a few slices of fresh jalapeno.

Awesome Chile Sauce...Authentic Mexican Flavor

Awesome Chile Sauce...Authentic Mexican Flavor. ...Recently, I dined at the famous Frontera Grill in Chicago, owned by Rick Bayless....the famous Top Chef Masters winner. I have been wanting to try something authentic in flavor at home ever since I tasted some of his sopes, enchiladas with mole sauce, and various salsas.

I came across a chile sauce on BigOven.com called Colorado Chile Sauce. Actually, it was my inspiration for this sauce I made. I have never used dried chiles before, so I was excited to try something new and different.

While in Chicago, I browsed through my sister-in-law's cookbook, written by Rick Bayless. In that book, I found a chile sauce recipe that used dried chiles as the base. I was quite intrigued with the steps involved. The recipe required you to soak the dry chiles in sweetened water. I remember thinking, "Why sweetened?" But, I never bothered to write down the recipe. I just filed that information somewhere in the back of my mind:). Anyway, I proceeded to try the Colorado Chile Sauce.... the one from BigOven, that had initially inspired me. As I was making it, I noticed that the sauce was too thick, so I increased the amount of the chicken stock I was using. Which, by the way, I think adds much more flavor than just using plain water. Anyway, I adjusted the amount of liquid and put the whole sauce on low heat to simmer. I kept tasting it and found that the sauce was bitter! I was quite devastated...I thought I had just wasted a bunch of ingredients and my homemade chicken stock. It was the chicken stock that I was worried about, really:). But, then I remembered the sweetened water...

I did a bit of research and I found out that sugar takes away the bitterness of the chiles! Wow, that was such a big revelation! Now I understood why Rick Bayless soaked his chiles in sweetened water! It finally made perfect sense! So I proceeded to add sugar, a teaspoon at a time, to the simmering sauce. The sauce miraculously lost its bitterness...and I was thrilled!

Some recipes thicken the sauce with a roux(flour and water), while others let it simmer away until the desired thickness is reached. I chose to thicken mine with a bit of masa flour(used for making corn tortillas), just because I thought that it would bring in more of an authentic flavor. I am not an expert, but I thought it went rather well. Most recipes say to strain the sauce. Actually, I don't bother with that... I rather prefer the homemade look. This way, you know it isn't from a can:)!

The sauce is excellent for enchiladas, but can also be used for other various dishes. You can use it on top of burritos...sort of like a wet burrito. I did that for this post. My husband raved about the sauce and forgot all about the burrito:)! You can top it with some Pepper Jack/Colby cheese...the cheese blends wonderfully with the sauce. A regular burrito can be transformed into something rather quite delicious with this sauce.

You can also stew some carnitas, shredded beef /chicken in the sauce and use it on top of sopes, soft tacos, etc. Try using the sauce for breakfast...with eggs/egg burrito. I went to my whole foods store to get my chiles ( I prefer them without the added sulfites)... but, you can probably buy them at a regular supermarket as well. The pasilla chiles might also go by another name. Next time, I would like to vary the variety of dried chiles to see the difference. So here is my version...

You will need:

8-10 cups chicken stock(I used 10 cups)

5 dried pasilla chiles

2 dried ancho chiles

1 onion

6 garlic cloves

1 chipotle pepper in adobo*

1 TBS oregano

1 TBS cumin

1 TBS lime/lemon juice

1 TBS vinegar

1 TBS sugar

2 tsp kosher salt; or to taste**

*this is optional, but I love the smokiness it imparts

** I used homemade chicken stock, but if you use store bought, the salt quantity might be a bit different.

Thicken with:

1/4-1/2 cup masa flour

1/2 cup water

Mix the two until you get a slurry-like consistency and add to the chile sauce. Cook until the sauce thickens.

Directions:

1. Wash and dry chiles...usually you don't need to wash them. But sometimes, I find that they have dirt/dust in the crevices of the chiles, so I just wash them.

2. Toast chiles. I toast my chiles in a dry skillet. That means I don't add any liquid or oil. You just want to toast the chiles for a few seconds(30 or so) by pressing on them with a spatula.

You don't want to burn them. Let cool.

3. Cut the stems off and take out the seeds.
4. In a large bowl, add 2 cups of the chicken stock. Place the toasted chiles in the stock to soak.
5. Let soak for 20-30 minutes.

6. In the meantime, cut your onion in chunks and toast them in a dry skillet along with the garlic cloves(leave them whole). You want the onion to char a bit...this will give them additional flavor. You can also do the onions/garlic in the oven underneath the broiler.

7. After the chiles have soaked for 20-30 minutes, add them to the blender along with the stock it had soaked in.
8. Add the onion, garlic, chipotle pepper, oregano, cumin, lime juice, vinegar, salt and sugar.

9. Blend until smooth.

10. In a large pot, add the reminder 8 cups chicken stock and the blended chile sauce.

Stir to combine.

11. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
You can thicken the sauce with masa flour/mixed with a bit of water
OR
use a bit of flour and water....this all depends on how thick you want your sauce to be.

You DON'T have to thicken the sauce if you feel it is thick enough(in case you use less stock). I like to thicken mine using masa flour, just because it brings in a bit of the corn flavor to the whole sauce. But, if you don't have any, just thicken the sauce with a bit of flour/water slurry.

12. Use on burritos with a bit of cheese or as an enchilada sauce.

13. Store in containers for one week or freeze.

*This sauce will stain your plastic containers. You can use plastic bags...and then throw them away or use disposable plastic containers or wash plastic containers in a weak bleach/water solution.