I was about 11 years old when my parents decided our family would celebrate Christmas in Loreto, Baja California. We drove down from Berkeley in a VW bus, spending our days traveling first along crowded, fast-moving California highways, then, south of the border, along desolate roads filled with potholes.
One morning after sleeping on the soft sand of the Baja desert, we drove to a breakfast spot that someone had read about in a guidebook. We ordered huevos rancheros from a shack that stood by itself among the cacti and rocks, and ate them at a table in the crystalline sunlight.
It was on that morning in the Baja desert that I first tasted white corn tortillas and grapefruit soda, and since then a meal of huevos rancheros has always felt like a celebration.
I have eaten many variations of huevos rancheros: eggs poached in salsa or fried; with beans, without; with cheese or not; tortillas made of corn or flour, fried or heated. The only essential ingredients are tortillas, eggs, and salsa.
But the tortillas and eggs are merely the medium; like many Mexican dishes, the salsa makes the dish, so it must be muy sabrosa. I served huevos rancheros this morning because I had leftover corn tortillas, black beans, and queso fresco. The salsa was Casa Sanchez’s mildly spicy roasted tomato — an excellent, locally made salsa worthy of huevos rancheros.
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Great memory. I’ll never forget that morning. Dad
ReplyDeleteI have never liked most beans, so if I make the huevos, I do so with black beans mixed with sweet onion and green chiles. I also always use shredded Mexican cheese, usually Chihuahua. Eggs sunny side up. And although it may sound mundane, Trader Joe's green salsa is great. You can always make it more caliente with minced jalapeno or habanero.
ReplyDeleteYou make my mouth water most of the time, including this time. J
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to imagine your family in a VW bus. Easy-peasy!
ReplyDeleteI'll place Huevos Rancheros high on the breakfast list if the egg yolks are still runny and there's a salsa made with fresh tomatillos and cilantro, but hey, I will not turn my nose up at Traders Joes or the Casa Sanchez.
Although I think Casa Sanchez makes about the best commercial salsas available in the supermart, I'm surprised you didn't whip up your own basic salsa casera for those special, evocative huevos rancheros (a staple at our casa).
ReplyDeleteDOW