Foodiva's Kitchen: Divorced Eggs (Huevos Divorciados) for a Mexican Breakfast

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Divorced Eggs (Huevos Divorciados) for a Mexican Breakfast

When two people decide to get a divorce, it isn’t a sign that they “don’t understand” one another, but a sign that they have, at last, begun to.
~ Helen Rowland

Just as J.Lo and Marc Anthony have decided to go their separate ways, so have my eggs in this version of the Mexican breakfast dish, Huevos Divorciados or Divorced Eggs. Or literally speaking, fried eggs on tortillas with two salsas. We call a meal of this proportion brunch, but in Mexico it is served for breakfast. Yes, the Mexicans do know how to start their day on a happy note! 

I was struggling a bit for this month's International Incident Party theme, Mexican Breakfast. Unlike last month's 'Sichuan' theme, I don't eat Mexican food very often (not as much as Sichuan, anyway) and I've never tried making it at home. Outside of Mexico, I think I'd only dined at a proper Mexican restaurant 3 times in my entire life....it's terrible, I know.




Since Penny, who's the Party host, announced the Mexican-brekkie theme, I've trawled the Net for ideas and there certainly was plenty of inspiration. What I finally settled on was this, as it was a fairly safe bet - there are eggs, tortillas and salsa in it. And for good measure, I made refried beans from scratch, a first for me too.


What intrigued me most about this dish is that the two eggs are each topped with different salsas. One is fiery red, composed of plum tomatoes and red chillies. The other is vibrant green, containing tomatilloes (or physalis, which grow wildly in my garden) and coriander or cilantro. The tomatoes, tomatilloes, chillies and seasonings were roasted before they were blended and the roasting served to enhance the flavors of the salsas. I loved the way both salsas were the dominant components of the dish and determined the overall  tone of the dish. 


I fashioned some mini-tortillas out of whole wheat flour, and since I didn't have a tortilla press at home, I used a plate and my whole body weight to press down on the dough. You can see how flat the tortillas got after I was done squishing down on them with all my might... So satisfying, that process :-).


Okay, refried beans...these weren't supposed to be part of the dish but I just wanted to have a go at making them at home. I bought some black beans and after soaking and boiling them for several hours, I mashed them up with a potato masher. UH-OH. Why were the black bean kernels white, not black like in the photos? Someone please tell me how many types of black beans there are out there, so I know for sure that I got the wrong one and it wasn't due to my cooking technique?


The plated breakfast looked colorful and full of life, in fact it reminded me a little of the Mexican flag, with the red, white and green colors of the ingredients. I was so excited to photograph the whole thing that I managed to bust a yolk, making a mess on the red salsa side. But that's okay, a divorce is supposed to be messy anyway, isn't it?

The green salsa was most memorable for me and the refried beans also really surprised me with its tastiness despite looking like....well, not-very-pretty (I'll never judge a bean by its cover again!). Oh, I just had to include that purple, decorated gourd vessel in the above shot because that was the first souvenir I ever, ever bought from Mexico (a dozen years ago). Finally, I have a use for it! 

Lastly, going back to my divorced eggs theme, I've chosen to end this post with a humorous but slightly disturbing video from Pink, singing "Please don't leave me". Indeedy.

Do check out the other Mexican breakfasts served up by the IIP participants by clicking on the thumbnails below.

Huevos Divorciados - Fried Eggs on Tortillas with Two Salsas

Red and Green Salsas
Serves: 4
1/2 lb plum tomatoes
1/2 lb fresh tomatillos, husks discarded and tomatillos rinsed
2 fresh jalapeño chillies (I used red chillies)
1 (1-inch) wedge of large white onion
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
1/4 to 1/2 cup water

4 to 8 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 large eggs
8 (6 to 7-inch) flour or corn tortillas (recipe below)
Refried beans (recipe below)

Method:
1. For the salsas: Heat a (griddle or cast-iron skillet over moderate heat, then roast tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeños, and onion, turning with tongs, until charred on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes. Core roasted tomatoes. Discard stems from jalapeños and discard half of seeds from each chilli.
2. For red salsa: Coarsely purée tomatoes, 1 jalapeño, 1 garlic clove, and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor, then transfer to a bowl.
3. For green salsa: Coarsely purée tomatillos, remaining jalapeño, remaining garlic clove, remaining teaspoon salt, cilantro, and 1/4 cup water (add more if needed for desired consistency), then transfer to a bowl.
4. Cook eggs: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a small nonstick skillet over moderately low heat until hot. Gently break 2 eggs into a cup, keeping yolks intact, then pour into skillet and cook, covered, to desired doneness. Season with salt and pepper.
Fry tortillas while eggs cook. Make more eggs in same manner, adding oil as needed.
5. Fry tortillas: Preheat an ungreased griddle. Add tortilla and cook until it begins to puff with a few browning spots on the bottom. Flip and press down to release the air pockets. Cook for about 1 minute. Remove and serve.
6. To assemble dish: Put 2 tortillas on each plate, overlapping slightly, and top with 2 eggs. Spoon a different salsa over each egg. Serve with refried beans.p

Refried Black Beans
Serves: 4
1 lb black beans
1-2 tablespoons minced garlic
1-2 tablespoons cummin powder
1tablespoon salt
1tablespoon pepper
1tablespoon chilli powder (or less)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 tablespoons butter

Method:
1. Empty a bag of black beans onto a tray and pick out any impurities like pebbles, etc. Rinse the beans in a colander. Then let them soak in a large pot overnight. Use plenty of water since the beans expand quite a bit.
2. Boil beans for about an hour or so, basically until they are soft (make sure to keep on adding water). Then add minced garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and chilli powder if you’re feeling daring (but not too much). Then let all that boil for another hour. You want the beans so soft that they are falling apart, it makes it easier to mash them later on.
3. After the boiling is complete, empty out most of the water, but not too much or else the beans get really dry. Make sure the bottom half of the beans are in water. Then mash the beans using a potato masher. A fork will also work if a potato masher is unavailable, but that takes a lot more work. The consistency of the beans shouldn’t be uniform—that only happens at food processing plants.
4. To re-fry beans, cover a very large pan with olive oil. Saute onions until fragrant, then reduce to a low heat. Add the beans to the sauteed onions. Mix in butter. Don’t re-fry for too long, it tends to dry out the beans. And don’t let them burn. Serve warm.

Whole Wheat or Corn Tortilla
Makes: 16-18 six-inch tortillas
3 cups whole wheat flour (or masa harina for corn tortilla)
1/3 cup vegetable oil, with extra for coating
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 - 1 cup warm water

Method:
1. Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Add vegetable oil and mix lightly. Begin adding the warm water and knead until you have a soft dough. Divide into equal pieces of 16-18 balls. Give the balls a light coating of additional vegetable oil. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
2. Roll out each ball on a floured surface, or press down with a plate.or tortilla press to get a more even circle. Use wax paper or plastic wrap in between each tortilla and stack for cooking. Preheat an ungreased griddle. Add tortilla and cook until it begins to puff with a few browning spots on the bottom. Flip and press down to release the air pockets. Cook for about 1 minute. Remove and serve.
3. Keep tortillas warm by wrapping in cloth. Can also be kept warm in the oven, reheated in the microwave or use a tortilla warming basket.

Have a relaxing Sunday!




50 comments:

Shirley said...

Thats a spread! I guess the wholewheat tortillas can also be rechristened as rotis. Loved the use of tomatillos

Victoria said...

I always thought this was such a fun dish... I mean who would think to call it "divorced" eggs, but the 2 different chile sauces are so much fun. I also love that you made your own tortillas!

penny aka jeroxie said...

Love that you used tomatillos and I did not have a tortilla presser too. I used hands and rolling pin. A very very vibrant dish. NOMZ!

Evelyne CulturEatz said...

HA, you know I came this close to making that recipe too. But your turned out so much better then I would have attempted. So beautiful and colorful. Both salsas look so tempting. And your refried beans, even if less black then you wanted, are gorgeous compared to the stuff served in restaurants.

Oh and I was so thinking of you when I was doing my pink/purple pan dulche lol.

Anonymous said...

Such a funny named dish... I think the first pic looks like a butterfly. It's like those psychology tests in which each person sees something different. Missed visiting your blog :) hope everything's good with you! xoxo

Torviewtoronto said...

this looks wonderful with the flatbread wondered what the title was :) about

the [sugar] apothecary said...

Mmmmm! What a fantastically colorful dish, and homemade tortillas too? They look amazingly paper-thin and SUPER delicious. Everything looks so fresh! I'm jealous that you have tomatillos growing wild in your garden. So awesome!

Not quite sure about the black bean debacle, though... Sounds delicious to me, either way. I have a feeling I'm going to be eating canned beans this weekend like a hobo in the midst of this storm! :)

Gerry @Foodness Gracious said...

Looks good and I would scoop that up in a second for breakfast. I eat Mexican at least twice a week here but that's because it's everywhere and I am jealous of your Sichuan taste though as I love that particular type of cooking but dont eat it enough :(
I also commend you for making your own tortillas, bravo!

PFx said...

You're a genius theme player, Maya!
From the first quote to the last greeting, I was taken a back. You did 'got me thinking'.
And that Pink's video is a gem, scary but can relate personally.
Mexican food is in my top 5 dream wishlist to discover, I hope one day I've come to experience such divine cuisine. I agree with you, that beans can be surprisingly tasty... it was a fundamental part of my old-vegetarian diet.

Unknown said...

Shirley, I was thinking the same thing about those rotis disguised as tortillas! LOL.

Unknown said...

Victoria, you're right. It was fun 'divorcing' the eggs, and plenty of fun to eat too!

Unknown said...

Penny, I actually didn't know what tomatilloes were at first. Then I googled it up and found out that they were those things growing in my garden and I'd been staring at them all along! Shocker...

TinaRBK said...

You did a great job with this theme! Mexican food is a staple meal around here and divorced eggs will be added to the list of meals. Ha-great idea of "divorced" and well chosen video. Have a great day!

Unknown said...

Evelyne, thank you. You wouldn't believe me if I told you that that Mexican bread you made was MY other choice? It was, truly! Although, I was just going to flavor the topping with coffee, purple and pinks never even crossed my mind. Which was rather odd for me!

Unknown said...

Yuri, after I finished plating the dish, I suddenly saw the butterfly too! Admittedly without the feelers... But can you really see anything else like in those tests? Glad you dropped by, it's been a while!

Unknown said...

Akheela, aha, I knew you got hooked by the dramatic title! If you're looking for a recipe that will result in your husband taking off, this isn't it. But if you want, I CAN create a recipe especially to cause that effect...haha. I am an alchemist after all!

Unknown said...

Christine@sugar apothecary...Noooo, NOT canned beans! Although if you did make those eclairs you and Mike were planning, you'd be happier hobos floating on your sofa after Irene paid you guys a visit! ;-)

Unknown said...

Gerry@Foodness Gracious, why don't we swap your Mexican for my Sichuan for a day? Then when we've had enough of the other cuisine, we can go back to our regular dining! ;-)

Carolyn said...

Your homemade tortillas look fantastic. The whole dish does. Love the name, it's hilarious.

Unknown said...

Pierre, don't think too hard...this is a post about Mexican food, not a psychology lesson. LOL. Also, in what way did you relate to that video exactly? Were you the guy, or Pink? Either way, it's scary and I wouldn't want to think your little hungry heart experienced something like that! Hahaaa....

Unknown said...

Tina, muchas gracias! See I can speak Espanyol already. There was another quote I liked, 'I'm single but I tell people I'm divorced so they wouldn't think I'm weird'! Haha, isn't that a blast?

Unknown said...

Carolyn, I'm starting to think that I pick foreign dishes with funny names deliberately for the shock factor. In fact, this dish is quite tame, don't you think? No surprise ingredients in there at all!

Von said...

Such a cute name! And the dish looks so interesting too! I haven't had much mexican food either, though after seeing this, I'd be interested in finding out more! I love the way you flattened the tortillas- usually I roll mine out, but your much more fun- and they look a lot nicer than mine usually turn out!

Tasty Trix said...

So cooketh the woman who says she doesn't feel comfortable cooking savory dishes!!! Maya, this is beautiful, and your yolks (popped or not) are simply perfect. Way to go making your own refried beans as well.This looks SO good!!

shaz said...

Love the name! And I'm all for hearty brekkies! :)

Wok with Ray said...

Very colorful breakfast! I love it when tomatoes and chili peppers were roasted first and it's exactly what you did; I think they are beautiful before and after they are made into a salsa.

Love your creativity flattening those tortillas without the use of tortilla press. So, may I say – I am IM-pressed? ;P

I hope you are having an enjoyable weekend, Maya!

~ ray ~

Sandra said...

:)) Love the name..too funny!
that breakfast if the killer, love how you made it and presented....nicely done! you are one amazing lady, just wanted you to know that!:)

Lilly said...

I didn’t notice the bust egg until you mentioned. I was so totally blown away by the vibrant colors. And you made your own tortillas! I am soooo impressed!

By the way I haven’t seen black beans that were black on the inside either. And you’ve got physalis growing wildly in your garden? Have to tried to eat them ripe? I think I’ve blogged about the once.

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

As always, you went all out with this challenge! So creative an delicious. I'll take both sides, scrambled, please...YUM!

Jocie's Mom said...

Great themed breaky! :) Both of those salsas look super yummy!

Biren @ Roti n Rice said...

What a fun dish and a huge breakfast! Perfect for my teenage sons but I will efinitely skip lunch after this meal. I like the new look of your blog :)

Unknown said...

what a very interesting dish! i am not a big egg person but the dish look ...very interesting or did I say that already :) cheers, priya

Anonymous said...

I'm always surprised by refried beans whenever I have them. They're delicious!

Anonymous said...

What a fun post! Not only does the breakfast look AMAZING, but it's so creative! Thank you...and buzzed!

Amanda said...

This sounds delish! I can't wait to try out those salsas, nothing like huevos con salsa verde :D

Shilpa said...

Divorced eggs! Never heard of this before - I guess we learn new things everyday :-) I would happily have this for breakfast - totally yum! I have never made refried beans before - one day will surely give these a go....colourful and 'make the reader very hungry' post :-)

-Shilpa

Cher Rockwell said...

If only divorces were messy in the same way your eggs are, it would be a heck of a lot easier to deal with :-)
Love the refried beans from scratch idea.

Unknown said...

Oh Yum! This is just my kind of breakfast. I am so impressed you made your own tortilla and the refried beans. Bravo!

Magic of Spice said...

What a fun and colorful dish...love the two different salsas, and the name :)
P.S. I was excited to hear you would be joining our 5 star cooking group...welcome and can't wait to see your creative masterpieces :)

Unknown said...

Cher, I agree totally. Even if I were to bust TWO eggs, it would still be easier to deal with than a divorce, I'm pretty sure! LOL.

Unknown said...

Michael, this is just the Mexican version of eggs and beans on toast. Oh, that reminds me how much I've missed my British breakfasts!

Unknown said...

Alisha, thanks it was a fun dish to do. So excited to do next month's Makeover, I have to think really hard now!

adorasbox said...

What a name... what a dish! This is definitely a waker upper. Would love to have this for breakfast. I like Mexican food but you know how there's a shortage of proper Mexican chefs over here. Even Taco Bell is many miles away.

kankana said...

LOL on the name . The dish looks fantastic and so pretty colorful. Loved your step by step photo.

Anonymous said...

It's a gorgeous plating and all the components look wonderfully delicious! An awesome breakfast!

1 Recette 1 Minute said...

Wow! Looks really delicious:D

Shu Han said...

as usual, that looks delicious!

Oh btw i just tagged you in this fun recap post thing, where you choose your top 7 posts so your readers (including me!) can get the chance to catch up on great posts that we've missed! hope you can play along (:

http://mummyicancook.blogspot.com/2011/08/seven-posts.html

Jenny (VintageSugarcube) said...

Maya- I've eaten more than my fair share of Mexican food living in Southern California and your breakfast sure stands up to the competition. Kudos girl! xoxo

Choclette said...

Now that is one beautiful and very tasty breakfast. If I was served that up in bed one day I don't think I'd ever file for divorce. Fantastic.

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

You crack me up - what a great name! Your mini tortillas are impressive! I want to have this kind of breakfast one day...

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