Hatch Chile Huevos Rancheros
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces. This is a mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Yields 4-6 Servings
Ingredients:
- 1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
- 1 Tbs packed brown sugar
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 sweet yellow onion, diced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 1/2 Tbs chile powder
- 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2-3 Hatch chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced (or 1 poblano pepper)
- 1 cup shredded Hatch chile cheddar (or Pepperjack cheese)
- 8 large eggs
- 1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
- 6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, warmed
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and drain the tomatoes, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the liquid to a 2-cup liquid measuring cup and reserve 1 3/4 cups of the tomato juice, discarding the rest. Whisk in the sugar and lime juice and set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine the tomatoes, onion, olive oil, chile powder, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Spread the mixture into an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 35 to 40 minutes, stirring halfway through.
- Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 400 degrees.
- Transfer the roasted tomato mixture to a 9×13 inch baking dish, and stir in the tomato juice mixture and hatch chiles. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with cheese, then use the back of a ladle to form 8 small “wells”in the tomato mixture.*
- Carefully crack an egg into each well, then sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper.
- Bake until the whites are just beginning to set but still have some movement, 13 to 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack, and cover with foil. Let the eggs sit for 5 minutes. Sprinkle cilantro over the top, and serve.
Slightly adapted from a recipe from pink-parsley.com