Breakfast Nachos

This is a breakfast to make on a Sunday morning. It goes well with coffee, Mexican chocolate, and especially tequila sunrises. Food from warm climates is particularly welcome on winter days.

Ingredients for the nachos:
4 eggs
1 link chorizo
¼ cup cilantro leaves chopped
1/3 cup grated Monterey jack cheese
1/3 package tortilla chips
ranchero sauce – see below.

Note: Don’t be too fussy here. Mexican chorizo is authentic, but Portuguese is readily available and does fine. Your supermarket's Mexican grated cheese does well. 


Ingredients for the ranchero sauce:

14 ounce can chopped tomatoes. The fire roasted kind are good in this.
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 a green pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 jalapeño pepper seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon of cilantro stems finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

Note: This doesn’t make a particularly hot sauce and will be suitable for the timid.
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Make the ranchero sauce. In a skillet sauté the chopped onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the green pepper and the jalapeno. Sauté until soft. Add the tomatoes, cilantro stems, and cumin. Cook for five minutes.

Note: five minutes is a minimum cooking time. I turn the heat down and let it simmer while I’m making the coffee and other drinks and begining the next step, The sauce should be thick, but if it gets too dry, add a little water.

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Make the nachos. Preheat broiler. Remove casing from chorizo link and slice it lenghwise into quarters. Cut the quarters into quarter-inch wedges. Sauté in a non-stick skillet. Remove and drain on paper towel leaving fat in skillet. Spread tortilla chips 2 or 3 deep over the bottom of a shallow casserole dish. Fry the eggs sunny side up in the chorizo fat. When they are firm enough to move, place them on the chips and spoon the ranchero sauce around them.

Place the chorizo around the eggs. Sprinkle the cheese over the dish, leaving the egg yolks exposed. Place the dish under a preheated broiler just the long enough to melt the cheese. (Too long will overcook the egg yolks, which should be runny.) Sprinkle the dish with the chopped cilantro.

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Extras

Garnish the dish with pickled jalapeño slices, which breakfasters can use to their discretion. Guacamole goes well too. The fresh kind you find in the produce department will do fine.