Chilaquiles Verdes with Fried Eggs
Serves 2, generously · Prep: 20 minutes · Cook: 25 minutes · Total: about 45 minutes
The authentic core of this dish is fried corn tortilla wedges briefly cooked in tomatillo salsa, then finished with Mexican crema and a salty aged cheese. Shredded chicken and fried eggs are both common additions.
Ingredients
Pickled red onion
- ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- ⅓ cup hot water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Tortilla chips
- 10 corn tortillas, preferably slightly stale
- Neutral oil, for frying
- Salt
Salsa verde
- 1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 1 to 2 serrano peppers
- ¼ medium white onion
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ cup loosely packed cilantro
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- ½ to ¾ cup chicken stock or water
- About 1 teaspoon kosher salt
To finish
- 1 cup shredded cooked chicken, optional but likely present beneath the eggs
- 4 eggs
- ⅓ cup Mexican crema
- ½ cup finely crumbled or grated cotija cheese
- Cilantro leaves or cilantro microgreens
- Neutral oil, for frying the eggs
Instructions
- 1
Pickle the onion
Combine the vinegar, hot water, sugar, and salt. Add the onion and press it beneath the liquid. Leave it for at least 25 minutes while you prepare everything else, then drain before serving.
- 2
Fry the tortillas
Cut each tortilla into six wedges. Pour about ½ inch of oil into a skillet and heat it to approximately 350°F. Fry the tortilla wedges in small batches for 1 to 2 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp and deep golden. Drain on paper towels and season lightly with salt — freshly fried tortillas are sturdier than ordinary packaged chips and hold up better once they meet the salsa.
- 3
Simmer the tomatillos
Place the tomatillos, serranos, onion, and garlic in a saucepan. Cover with water and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the tomatillos soften and turn from bright green to olive green.
- 4
Blend the salsa
Drain, then blend with the cilantro and ½ cup stock until mostly smooth.
- 5
Cook the salsa
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully pour in the salsa and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Add enough remaining stock to make it loose enough to coat the chips without becoming watery, then season with salt.
- 6
Fry the eggs
Heat a thin layer of oil in a separate nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Crack in the eggs and cook until the whites are completely set, the edges are lightly browned and crisp, and the yolks remain runny. Season with salt.
- 7
Warm the chicken
Return the salsa to a gentle simmer. Stir in the shredded chicken, if using.
- 8
Add the tortillas
Add the fried tortilla wedges and fold them through the salsa for only 30 to 45 seconds. They should be coated and beginning to soften while still retaining crisp sections.
- 9
Assemble
Immediately divide between two plates and spoon over any salsa remaining in the skillet. Finish each plate with loose spoonfuls of crema, a generous scattering of cotija, pickled red onions, two fried eggs, and cilantro or cilantro microgreens.
Recipe notes
Cook’s notes
- Boiling the tomatillos gives the brighter, cleaner green salsa pictured here; roasting them instead would make it darker and smokier.
- Cooking the blended salsa briefly in oil deepens its flavor rather than leaving it raw and thin.
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