Huevos Divorciados Bajío

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet
• •Blender
• •Small saucepan
• •Bean masher or heavy spoon
• •Barro or majolica plates from the Bajío if available

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the red chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles separately, 15 to 25 seconds per side, just until the skins darken slightly and smell sweet. Do not blacken them. Burned guajillo turns bitter and then your red salsa tastes like punishment. Cover the toasted chiles with hot water and soak for 15 minutes.

2. 2

   Roast the vegetables

   On the same comal, roast the tomatoes, onion, and unpeeled garlic until blistered in spots. The tomato skins should split and the onion should soften at the edges. Peel the garlic. This roasting gives the salsa its fonda flavor. Raw tomato in this salsa tastes thin.

3. 3

   Blend the roja

   Drain the soaked chiles and blend them with the roasted tomatoes, onion, peeled garlic, Mexican oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 cup water. Blend until smooth, then strain if your blender leaves skins behind. The salsa should be brick red, not orange, with the guajillo in front and the ancho rounding the back.

4. 4

   Cook the verde

   Place the tomatillos and serrano in a small saucepan and cover with water. Simmer until the tomatillos turn olive green, about 6 minutes. Drain and blend with cilantro, the epazote sprig, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons water. Taste it. It should be bright and sharp enough to wake up the egg.

   If tomatillos are pale, hard, or tasteless, make this when the market has better ones. A bad tomatillo makes a flat salsa verde. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
5. 5

   Fry both salsas

   Melt 1 tablespoon manteca in a small skillet over medium. Add the salsa roja and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes until it thickens and the color deepens. Scrape it into a bowl. Melt another 1/2 tablespoon manteca and fry the salsa verde for 3 minutes. Frying the salsas takes away the raw edge and lets the fat carry the chile. Así se hace y punto.

6. 6

   Refry the beans

   Melt 1 tablespoon manteca in a skillet over medium. Add the cooked beans and their liquid. Mash with a bean masher or the back of a spoon until thick but not dry. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring, until the beans hold a soft ridge when pushed across the pan. Taste for salt. These beans are the wall between the eggs, so they need body.

7. 7

   Warm the tortillas

   Brush the tortillas lightly with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon manteca and warm them on the comal until pliable with a few toasted spots. Do not use flour tortillas here. Flour tortillas belong to the north. In the Bajío fonda, this plate sits on corn.

8. 8

   Fry the eggs

   Fry the eggs in a lightly greased skillet over medium heat until the whites are set and the yolks are still soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Salt them while they cook. Keep the edges a little crisp if you like them that way. A clean white egg with a soft yolk is fine. A rubber yolk is not breakfast, it is neglect.

9. 9

   Plate the divorce

   Set two warm tortillas on each plate and place one fried egg on each tortilla. Spoon the refried beans in a thick line between them. Cover one egg with salsa roja and the other with salsa verde, keeping the colors separate. Finish with queso fresco and a few cilantro leaves if using. Serve immediately with bolillos or warm tortillas.

Chef Tips

• •Use flor de mayo or bayo beans if you can. They are common in the Bajío and they refry into a creamy, sturdy paste. Black beans are not wrong in Mexico, but they pull the plate toward the south.
• •The red salsa is guajillo first, ancho second. Guajillo gives the clean red color and mild chile flavor. Ancho gives depth. Do not replace both with chile de árbol unless you want heat instead of balance.
• •Manteca de cerdo belongs here. If you use oil, the beans will still feed you, but they will not taste like the fonda plate this recipe is built from. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Huevos divorciados are assembled at the last minute. Keep the salsas and beans warm, then fry the eggs when everyone is at the table. Eggs wait badly.

Advance Preparation

• •The salsa roja and salsa verde can be made one day ahead and refrigerated separately. Reheat each in a small skillet with a spoonful of water to loosen it.
• •Cook the beans up to three days ahead. Refry them just before serving so they are thick, glossy, and warm.
• •Do not fry the eggs ahead. That is not planning, that is ruining the one thing that must be fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 565g)