huevos rancheros |

In honor of Cinco de Mayo this week, I’m mixing it up from the popular taco-enchilada cycle with Huevos Rancheros. You’ll see a variety of ways out there to make huevos rancheros but mine was inspired by a tasty brunch that I had at Milwaukee’s The Eatery on Farwell several months ago. After eating their version I kept craving it and had to recreate it. It won over the hubs and is now on regular rotation both as a quick weeknight dinner and a Sunday breakfast at our house.

Since you assemble each plate separately, it makes it easy to adjust egg preferences based on individual needs/tastes and allow each person to top the dish with the condiments of their choice. Usually I prefer poached eggs since the oozing centers mix with the cheese sauce into creamy awesomeness but since I’ve been pregnant I’ve been scrambling my portion instead. The recipe is for two but can be easily increased to serve more.

Huevos Rancheros for Two
4 tostada shells
4 eggs (poached, over-easy or scrambled)
1/2 lb ground chorizo
homemade or store bought pico de gallo
1 avocado, sliced
cheese sauce
hot sauce

Cheese Sauce
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 C shredded cheddar or mexican cheese blend
1/3+ C milk
2 Tbsp half & half
pinch of salt
* note: Cheese and liquid measures are approximate. Simply add more in little bits to reach desired consistency.

NOTE: You’ll be using multiple burners on your stove at once and as with most egg dishes, this moves fast so getting your ingredients prepped first is key.

Place two tostadas (or hard taco shells broken in two) on each plate and set aside. Slice avocado and prepare pico de gallo and set aside. In a saute pan, begin cooking chorizo over medium heat. Continue cooking chorizo while you work on other components, about 7-8 minutes.

In a small sauce pan, melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour to create a roux. Gradually whisk in half and half and half of the milk, whisking out any chunks of flour. Stir in cheese and let melt, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes. Whisk in additional milk of mixture is too thick to get a smooth, semi-thick and creamy sauce or whisk in more cheese if mixture is runny. Dust lightly with salt and whisk well. Keep on low heat, stirring occasionally, until eggs are cooked.

For scrambled eggs: As your chorizo and cheese begins to cook, crack eggs into a small bowl and add a splash of milk. Whisk well. Add 1/2 Tbsp butter to a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once melted and pan is hot, pour in egg mixture. Stir occasionally, scraping pan to fluff and scramble eggs until eggs are cooked and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
For poached eggs: We use this odd Depression-era egg pan of my husband’s but here is an easy picture tutorial to get it right without a special pan.