Huevos Rancheros

From the time I was very little, Mexico played a fairly large part in my life. My whole family vacationed to the same spot for many decades, up until I was a toddler. When I was around ten years old, my whole family (grandparents, cousins, etc.) took a trip to a new hotel in Mexico. There is one vivid memory that I have from the trip that has really impacted my view on cooking. I remember waking up one morning extra early, my parents still sleeping, and calling my cousins. My brothers, cousins, and I were all early risers and decided we were going to go to the beach while we waited for our parents to wake up (don’t worry, it was a small hotel, so it wasn’t as mischievous as it sounds). As we were walking around the hotel, we came across a woman, sitting on a low stool, making fresh tortillas. I remember we were so amused by the process that we ended up watching her for over a half hour. It was so beautiful; the way she molded the masa (a ground corn mixture that is used to make tortillas) in her hands, put the perfectly round ball in the tortilla press, placed the thin dough on a pan, and with no hesitation, flipped the hot tortillas with her bare hands. Beside her was a huge tower of tortillas, which she was using to simultaneously make quesadillas. She was so kind to my cousin and I, that she gave us quesadillas to munch on as we observed in awe.

Following that, we all sat down to eat breakfast. I had huevos rancheros. A incredible delight of warm tortillas with beans, avocado, salsa, Oaxaca cheese, and a runny egg on top. Ever since that morning, huevos rancheros became a dish that was constantly made in my house.

Ingredients

2 corn tortillas - having good quality tortillas is important

refried beans

salsa of choice

avocado

2 eggs

Oaxaca cheese

Directions

This recipe is not meant to have strict measurements, just go off of your preferences. Begin with your eggs, sunny side up, scrambled, poached, etc. Next, warm your tortillas and spread the beans on top. Add Oaxaca cheese onto both, and cover the pan to let the cheese melt. Next, top the tortillas with your eggs. Now you can add your toppings! Add avocado and salsa to top it off and enjoy! This breakfast never gets old.