A few years ago, I ordered the Huevos Rancheros at Etta’s Seafood restaurant near Pike Place Market (one of Tom Douglas’s excellent restaurants in Seattle) and it was a revelation. My dining partner commented on the alacrity with which I attacked my breakfast that morning. Since then, when I have time on a weekend morning (or after a long bike ride), I make a breakfast that was inspired by what was on my plate that day. This has evolved to include Chorizo al Vino, Salsa Fresca, and black beans, along with scrambled eggs and sliced avocado. The Chorizo al Vino is from a cookbook called Tapas by Penelope Casas. The Salsa Fresca is adapted from The All-New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking and the black beans are based on the Brazilian Black Beans recipe also in The All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking. Make as much of each as you want to eat. The Salsa Fresca is enough for 2-3 servings for me. The quantity of the black beans is defined by the can of beans and results in enough for 3-4 servings. As for the chorizo sausages, cook up as many as you can eat!
Chorizo al Vino
Spanish style chorizo (I use a brand called Dona Juana)
white wine
Take chorizo sausage, use a fork to poke holes in it, and put it in a pan with 1/2 its weight in white wine (for 4 ounces of sausage use 2 ounces of white wine). Cover and simmer until the wine is almost gone. Slice the chorizo into 1/4 inch slices and and cook them in the same amount of white wine, uncovered, until the wine is almost gone. The recipe says to serve it in the pan it was cooked in for tapas. I just put it on my plate for breakfast. I keep chorizo in my freezer and this recipe is a good way to thaw frozen chorizo as well.
Salsa Fresca
1/3 Cup onion, diced
1/2 Tblsp lime juice, fresh squeezed
2/3 Cup grape tomatoes, diced
1 Tblsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/4 tsp (or more) serrano chile, diced
salt and pepper to taste
Mix the diced onion and fresh lime juice together and set aside until ready to serve. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and set aside until ready to serve (I think the lime juice mellows the onion). When you are ready to eat, mix all of the ingredients together and serve.
Black Beans
1/2 Tblsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Cup onion, diced
1/2 Cup green bell pepper, diced
1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp (or more) red pepper flakes
1/4 Cup orange juice, fresh squeezed
2 Tblsp sherry
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and green pepper and cook until soft and just starting to turn brown at the edges, add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds. I like to add the garlic near the end of onion-cooking so that it doesn’t overcook, brown, and turn bitter. Add the orange juice and sherry to deglaze a little and then add the beans, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer until the beans are heated through. Remove the lid and reduce the liquid until the beans are the consistency that you would like them to be.
Make some scrambled eggs, slice some fresh avocado, mix the salsa fresca ingredients together, and serve everything on a handsome plate. Normally, Huevos Rancheros are served with tortillas. I’m not really that into tortillas (or bread, or pasta, or rice – I know – gasp – but I do like french fries – that’s in my heritage), so I eat this dish as is, but you enjoy it as you like it!
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