Chilaquiles is one of our favourite breakfasts.
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Not because it’s complicated or particularly beautiful, but because it understands something important: yesterday’s tortillas still have work to do.
At Chorrito, breakfast usually happens standing up. A coffee in one hand, something cooking in the background, somebody asking where the onions are. Chilaquiles fits that sort of morning perfectly. It’s generous, forgiving, and somehow always exactly what you feel like eating.
The version we make is rojos. A salsa made from dried guajillo, ancho chillies and tomaatoes cooked down until it has depth and a little sweetness, then folded through crisp tortillas just long enough that they soften at the edges while keeping some bite through the middle. That balance — the few minutes between crunchy and collapsed — is the whole game.
A fried egg on top helps. So does a spoonful of crème fraîche.
The dish needs to be eaten immediately, preferably with a coffee nearby and not much of a plan for the rest of the day.
Serves 2
Heat a dry comal or heavy pan over high heat. Char the tomatoes, onion and garlic until blackened in patches and soft. Peel the garlic.
In the same pan, toast the guajillos and ancho for 20–30 seconds on each side until fragrant. Soak in boiling water for 20 minutes, then drain.
Blend the chillies with the charred tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano and stock until smooth.
Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Pour in the salsa and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until darkened and no longer raw. Season with salt.
Fry the tortilla quarters until crisp and drain on kitchen paper — or use shop-bought totopos if you’d rather skip this step. Blanco Niño are our favourite.
Fold the tortillas into the salsa. Give them about 90 seconds — edges soft, centres holding. Any longer and you have soup.
Fry the eggs however you prefer, we love a crispy white and runny yolk.
Plate immediately. Top with fried eggs, crème fraîche, then scatter over onion and coriander.
Eat immediately. Chilaquiles has no patience for people who let things go cold.
