Recipe Chilaquiles with Salsa Verde and Mexican Chorizo

[caseydog]

Chilaquiles with Salsa Verde and Mexican Chorizo

Ingredients

Salsa Verde (homemade or jarred -- here is my recipe for homemade)

6 Tomatillos
2 Jalapeños (more if you want a scorcher salsa)
1 large yellow onion
4 Cloves Minced Garlic

Peel the outer skin and wash the tomatillos. Cut the onion into wedges. Coat everything with olive oil. Roast until blistered and soft. Some char is okay. I roasted mine on the the grill/BBQ, but an oven/broiler will work.

Let everything cool enough to handle. Slice the jalapeños to remove the seeds. Put everything in a blender or food processor and blend until mostly smooth, but not pureed. Chill overnight in the fridge.

Chilaquiles

Corn Tortilla Chips (the thicker the better)
Mexican Chorizo (9 0z package)
Salsa Verde
Cotija Cheese (substitute other salty crumbly cheese, such as feta)
Fried Eggs (one for each serving)

Cook your Mexican chorizo It is is a raw sausage, and must be cooked. It will look like a wet ground beef when cooked.

Place a layer of warm corn tortilla chips on a plate. Spoon heated salsa verde into an even layer on the chips. Sprinkle warm chorizo on top of the salsa. Sprinkle crumbled cotija cheese on top of the chorizo. Place fried eggs on top .

CD

 

[vernplum]

I've never heard of a tomatillo and admit that my knowledge of Mexican and Latin American cuisine is a gaping void except for those faux TexMex restaurants here (I think I know what a taco is). I'll give this a try if I can get the ingredients, or maybe try a jar salsa if not.

 

[caseydog]

I've never heard of a tomatillo and admit that my knowledge of Mexican and Latin American cuisine is a gaping void except for those faux TexMex restaurants here (I think I know what a taco is). I'll give this a try if I can get the ingredients, or maybe try a jar salsa if not.

If you can't get tomatillos, chilaquiles can be made with salsa roja, which uses tomatoes instead of tomatillos. I think salsa verde is more common, but both are used for chilaquiles in Mexico.

CD

 

[Yorky]

Let everything cool enough to handle. Slice the jalapeños to remove the seeds.
CD

I have never removed the seeds from jalapeños or any other chillis. Is there a reason? I've heard it said on television cooking programmes and written in recipes but in my experience, no reason was given.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Chilaquiles are traditionally made in Mexico with totopos - triangular pieces of corn tortilla - more or less the same as a nacho. The green sauce (salsa verde) can be made as caseydog suggests, ie. frying the ingredients ( I think they call it "toreado" in Mexico) or by simply boiling the ingredients - with the addition of a handful of coriander leaf - and then blending. It might use jalapeños and it might use serrano chiles, which are a bit more spicy.
The jalapeño pepper has a lot of seeds, so that´s one reason to remove them; they can be a nuisance and get stuck in your teeth. However, removing the seeds to get rid of the "heat" is a myth (unfortunately, still propagated by some TV chefs). A chile pepper has three parts: the vein, or placenta, the flesh, and the seeds. Hottest is the vein, then the flesh, then the seeds.

 

[caseydog]

I have never removed the seeds from jalapeños or any other chillis. Is there a reason? I've heard it said on television cooking programmes and written in recipes but in my experience, no reason was given.

I remove them because they can be bitter. Also, the blender won't break them up -- they remain whole seeds. These were packed with seeds. I left the whitish membrane, which has the most heat. I just removed the seeds.

CD

 

[caseydog]

Chilaquiles are traditionally made in Mexico with totopos - triangular pieces of corn tortilla - more or less the same as a nacho. The green sauce (salsa verde) can be made as caseydog suggests, ie. frying the ingredients ( I think they call it "toreado" in Mexico) or by simply boiling the ingredients - with the addition of a handful of coriander leaf - and then blending. It might use jalapeños and it might use serrano chiles, which are a bit more spicy.
The jalapeño pepper has a lot of seeds, so that´s one reason to remove them; they can be a nuisance and get stuck in your teeth. However, removing the seeds to get rid of the "heat" is a myth (unfortunately, still propagated by some TV chefs). A chile pepper has three parts: the vein, or placenta, the flesh, and the seeds. Hottest is the vein, then the flesh, then the seeds.

I used jalapeños because I grow them in my backyard. I also used my grill/BBQ to roast the salsa ingredients because I like the subtle flavor of the char. I didn't use cilantro (coriander leaf) because I don't like it, but you can certainly use it if you do like it.

CD

 

[karadekoolaid]

I also used my grill/BBQ to roast the salsa ingredients because I like the subtle flavor of the char. I didn't use cilantro (coriander leaf) because I don't like it, but you can certainly use it if you do like it

I´m with you on that. I love the smoky flavour too. Last time I was in CDMX, lots of the restaurants would serve a side of "Chiles Toreados" ( grilled chiles; usually serranos).
As for the cilantro, it seems to be a genetic thing. I´ve met lots of people who dislike cilantro because they say it has a soapy flavour. Over here there seems to be a local aversion to anchovies!

 

[caseydog]

I´m with you on that. I love the smoky flavour too. Last time I was in CDMX, lots of the restaurants would serve a side of "Chiles Toreados" ( grilled chiles; usually serranos).
As for the cilantro, it seems to be a genetic thing. I´ve met lots of people who dislike cilantro because they say it has a soapy flavour. Over here there seems to be a local aversion to anchovies!

Yes, I am one of those people with the genetic trait that makes cilantro taste like soap. It is one particular chemical in cilantro that does it. I forget the name.

I've never grown serrano peppers. They are popular in California. Jalapeños are more popular here in Texas. The ones I grow are pretty hot. Hotter than what you can get in the grocery store.

CD

 

[ThatDude]

I'd straight up murder a plate of that!

 

[Morning Glory]

I've never heard of a tomatillo

They are impossible to find fresh here in the UK but tinned are available. I've never tasted them so its difficult to quite imagine the taste of the salsa verde. However given the slight charred taste from grilling and the amount of chilli I'm sure I'd love it.

Similarly I don't know how the Mexican Chorizo tastes. Is it very different from Spanish?

Overall, this is an appealing recipe to me and I think it needs that egg on top to provide a satisfying gooey texture to the whole dish.

 

[garlichead]

They're in most farm stands now in Prince Edward County and just picked some up.

 

[caseydog]

They are impossible to find fresh here in the UK but tinned are available. I've never tasted them so its difficult to quite imagine the taste of the salsa verde. However given the slight charred taste from grilling and the amount of chilli I'm sure I'd love it.

Similarly I don't know how the Mexican Chorizo tastes. Is it very different from Spanish?

Overall, this is an appealing recipe to me and I think it needs that egg on top to provide a satisfying gooey texture to the whole dish.

Fried eggs on top is optional, but very traditional in Mexico. I should have put two eggs on that plate, because that was easily two servings. I was afraid two eggs would hide too much of the stuff below in a photo. Try and imagine an extra egg.

Canned tomatillos should work, since roasting them will make them soft, anyway. I honestly don't know how an unripe green tomato would work. It might.

Mexican chorizo is very different. It is not a cured sausage. However, Spanish chorizo would work just fine. Chilaquiles are very versatile, and vary from region to region in Mexico.

Jalapeños from the store vary a lot in heat. You would not be disappointed with the jalapeños from my garden.

CD

 

[JAS_OH1]

I´m with you on that. I love the smoky flavour too. Last time I was in CDMX, lots of the restaurants would serve a side of "Chiles Toreados" ( grilled chiles; usually serranos).
As for the cilantro, it seems to be a genetic thing. I´ve met lots of people who dislike cilantro because they say it has a soapy flavour. Over here there seems to be a local aversion to anchovies!

My oldest brother hates cilantro, I love it, as does my other brother. I have no idea if my sisters like it or not, never asked and never saw them eat anything using cilantro.

 

[JAS_OH1]

They are impossible to find fresh here in the UK but tinned are available. I've never tasted them so its difficult to quite imagine the taste of the salsa verde. However given the slight charred taste from grilling and the amount of chilli I'm sure I'd love it.

Similarly I don't know how the Mexican Chorizo tastes. Is it very different from Spanish?

Overall, this is an appealing recipe to me and I think it needs that egg on top to provide a satisfying gooey texture to the whole dish.

I love Mexican chorizo, I am not a fan of Spanish chorizo. The Mexican chorizo is generally loose and crumbly like ground beef but with a different color and obviously a much different taste.