Huevos de Cuatro Maneras

Four takes on eggs with a distinctly regional accent

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

It is a bit of culinary mythology that the reason there are 100 folds in a chef’s toque—that tall, pleated, and very dated-looking hat—is that each pleat represents one of the hundred ways to cook an egg. Eggs, it seems, are foundational. As famed cookbook author, trained chef, and food TV personality Michael Ruhlman put it, “Understand completely this amazing and beautiful oblong orb—and you can enter new realms of cooking.” In other words, learn to cook eggs and you can cook just about anything.

In addition to being foundational, eggs are international. From the omelets of France, Japan’s tamago and omurice, Scotch eggs, Italy’s frittatas, India’s egg bhurji, Korean gyeran jjim, and Spanish tortilla de patatas, few cuisines lack their own approach to the egg. There are also egg dishes that seem to magically cross borders. Huevos ahogados is similar to North African shakshuka with a Mexican accent (or vice versa). Both are eggs poached in a spicy, tomato-based sauce.

Mexico may indeed have more takes on egg dishes than most cuisines. From the aforementioned huevos ahogados to huevos rancheros, huevos divorciados, huevos migas, and many others, the Mexican egg tradition is an old one and a rich one. Perhaps that tradition is one reason our regional chefs and home cooks seem drawn to eggs. Our region, after all, is international: one part American, one part Mexican with many separate cuisines composing each. And many of those influences inform our chefs’ approaches to the simple, noble egg.

Drew Bent, chef-owner of the East Village’s Michelinrecognized Lola 55 offers a unique take on huevos divorciados, a classic dish in which two sunny-side-up fried eggs sit atop tortillas, one with green salsa and the other with red salsa (the separate sauces accounting for the name—divorced eggs). Bent’s version features an egg cookery technique that might make the French scoff but offers a bigger hit of flavor.

Like Bent, Lety McKenzie (chef at Mujeres Brew House), offers her take on the classic Mexican egg dish huevos rancheros. Her version (recipe on page 18) uses two salsas, each flavored with a different herb. The red salsa features pipicha, an ancient Mexican herb similar to cilantro but with pronounced citrusy notes. And her green salsa showcases epazote, with its complex, pungent flavor profile.

But the Mexican egg tradition stretches further back than those popular classics. Papadzules—essentially egg-filled tortillas with two sauces—is a pre-Columbian dish of Mayan origin that was the forerunner of today’s enchiladas. The key to the dish is the intriguing combination of hard-boiled eggs, a pumpkin seed sauce, and a tomato-based sauce with a touch of habanero.

Roberto Alcocer, chef of the newly minted Valle Restaurant, which features the modern Mexican cuisine of Baja’s Valle de Guadalupe, offers a distinctly Mexican take on a breakfast classic: Eggs Benedict. Alcocer swaps in sopes for English muffins, uses smoked pork chops instead of Canadian bacon, and spikes the Hollandaise with guajillo peppers and a hit of lime juice (recipe on page 17).

There could hardly be a better one-dish breakfast summary of the cuisine of our region. And you don’t have to wear a hat with 100 pleats to cook any of these dishes.

Find the recipes for Michael Gardiner’s Egg Enchiladas with Pepita and Tomato-Lime Sauces (Papadzules) and Drew Bent’s Huevos Divorciados online at ediblesandiego.com.

EGGS BENEDICT WITH GUAJILLO HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

Recipe courtesy of Roberto Alcocer

Serves 4

4 tablespoons butter 4 egg yolks (reserve egg whites for another purpose) 1–2 tablespoons lime juice 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 dried guajillo chile 4 large eggs Splash distilled white vinegar 2 tablespoons corn, canola, or other neutral-flavored oil 4 slices smoked chuleta (pork chop) 2 tablespoons lard (or neutral-flavored oil such as grapeseed oil) 4 sopes (corn masa shells) 2 tablespoons shredded cotija cheese Make the guajillo Hollandaise sauce: Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. While the butter is melting, in a small bowl beat the egg yolks using a wire whisk until they are thoroughly combined. Add in the lime juice, whipping cream, salt, and pepper, and whisk to combine. Meanwhile, turn a burner to high and pass the guajillo chile over the flame 2 or 3 times; combine it with the melted butter in a high-speed blender and process, starting on low and gradually turning up the speed until the guajillo butter achieves a smooth consistency. Add a small spoonful of the hot guajillo butter to the egg mixture and whisk to thoroughly combine. Repeat this process adding a spoonful of hot butter at a time to the egg mixture until all the guajillo butter is incorporated. (Adding the butter slowly, a spoonful at a time, will temper the eggs and ensure they don’t curdle.) Once the butter has been incorporated, pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly, for just 20 to 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside. Poach the eggs: Fill a medium saucepan with about 3 inches of water. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. You should see small bubbles coming to the surface but not a rolling boil. Add a little splash of vinegar to the water to help the egg white stay together once it’s in the water. Crack one egg into a small cup (a small measuring cup works well), then lower the egg into the simmering water, gently easing it out of the cup. Cook the egg in simmering water for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how soft you want your egg yolk. (Note: It is not abnormal for a white foam to form on top of the water when poaching an egg. You can simply skim off the foam with a spoon.) Remove the poached egg with a slotted spoon. Poach remaining eggs one at a time. Finish and assemble the dish: While the egg is cooking, add the oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. When the pan comes to temperature, place the chuleta slices in the pan and cook for about 1 minute on each side. Remove the slices to a plate. Reduce the heat to medium and add the lard (or more oil) to the pan. Add the sopes to the pan and fry them for 30 to 45 seconds per side, just enough to give them a golden color. Remove the sopes from the pan to a paper towel-lined plate. To serve, place a single sope on a plate. Top each sope with a chuleta slice and a poached egg. Drizzle the guajillo Hollandaise sauce over each stack and sprinkle with shredded cotija cheese.

LETY GONZALEZ’S HUEVOS RANCHEROS

Serves 4

Salsa Roja 5 tomatoes ½ yellow onion 3 cloves garlic Kosher salt and ground black pepper 1 teaspoon minced pipicha (or cilantro) 2 bay leaves 10 dried árbol chiles

Salsa Verde 3 poblano chiles 3 jalapeño chiles 1 bunch epazote 10 tomatillos 1 yellow onion 5 cloves garlic 3 bay leaves 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground cumin ¼ piece star anise 2 whole serrano chiles ½ bunch cilantro 1 tablespoon salt ½ tablespoon ground black pepper

Huevos Rancheros 3 tablespoons corn, canola, or other neutral-flavored oil 8 corn tortillas 1 cup shredded queso Oaxaca 2 tablespoons butter 4 eggs 2 cups prepared salsa roja 2 cups prepared salsa verde 3 tablespoons Mexican crema, for garnish ½ bunch of cilantro, minced, for garnish Make the salsa roja: Bring a cast-iron frying pan to temperature over high heat. Add the tomato, onion, and garlic and cook until they are cooked through and take on a deep char. Season the vegetables to taste with salt and pepper and transfer them to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender. Add the pipicha (or cilantro) to the pan, along with the bay leaves and árbol chiles and toast them, stirring constantly, until they darken in color, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chiles and herbs to the food processor or high-speed blender and purée until slightly chunky in texture. To make the salsa verde, place the whole poblano and jalapeño chiles directly on the stove’s flame (or over an open or charcoal fire, or blacken the chiles using a blowtorch) and roast until the skin of the chiles are fully blackened. Place the blackened chiles in a ziplock bag to steam the skin free from the flesh for about 5 minutes. Peel the skin from the chiles. Bring the cast-iron frying pan to temperature over high heat, add the epazote and toast until lightly charred, about 1 minute. Remove the epazote and add tomatillos, onion, and garlic and cook until they are fully cooked through and take on a deep char. Add the contents of the pan, the epazote, and remaining ingredients to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender and purée until smooth. Make the huevos rancheros: In a hot frying pan, warm the 8 tortillas, then remove. Heat half of the oil in the pan over medium heat. Return 2 of the tortillas to the pan and top them each with half the cheese and 2 more tortillas. Cook until the cheese inside is melted and the tortillas crisp up, adding the remaining oil as needed. Repeat to make 2 more “quesadillas.” In a small frying pan, add half of the butter and cook over medium heat until the butter bubbles. Add 2 eggs at a time and cook sunny side up (or over easy if that’s your preference). To serve, add a “quesadilla” to each plate and top each with 3 to 4 tablespoons of salsa roja. Place an egg on the salsa roja and top each egg with 3 to 4 tablespoons of the salsa verde. Garnish with crema and minced cilantro. Note: Pipicha is an herb that is similar in flavor to cilantro but with an added hint of lemon. Cilantro is an acceptable substitute.