How to Make Chilaquiles With Red Sauce

These make a great breakfast or light dinner meal. Serves six.

Things You'll Need

• 1 garlic cloves - peeled and chopped
• 1/2 medium onions - peeled and sliced thin
• 1 tsp. salt - plus more for seasoning
• 2 tsp. lard or canola oil
• sour cream
• 1/4 c. canola oil (for frying)
• 1 large jalapeño chilies - stemmed and seeded for a milder sauce
• 2/3 cup chicken broths
• 10 large, ripe plum tomatoes
• 18 day-old corn tortillas
• 1/4 lb. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 c. crema mexicana
• Sour Cream

Instructions

Making the Sauce

1. Turn the oven on to broil and lay the tomatoes in an ovenproof casserole.

2. Place the tomatoes under the broiler and turn them every few minutes until they get black in spots.

3. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and reset the oven to 375 degrees F.

4. Peel and seed the tomatoes and put them along with the 2/3 of the sliced onion, garlic, chili and salt in a food processor.

5. Puree the tomato mixture.

6. Heat 1 tbsp. of the lard or oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.

7. Add the tomato puree to the hot oil while constantly stirring. Cook and stir for 4 minutes. The puree will get a slightly darker color to it.

8. Add the broth, then taste for seasoning.

9. Add extra salt if necessary, and keep warm.

Assembling the Dish

1. Heat the remaining oil in a small saute pan over high heat.

2. Stack six tortillas and cut into eight wedges like a pie.

3. Fry the tortilla pieces in the oil for 3 seconds each. The tortillas should be slightly flexible.

4. Cover the bottom of the casserole dish with some sauce and a single layer of the tortilla pieces.

5. Add some cheese and more sauce.

6. Repeat this process until you've used up all of the ingredients.

7. Bake for 20 minutes.

8. Garnish the chilaquiles with the crema mexicana and the remaining onion slices.

Tips & Warnings

• Frying the puree is a little messy, so stir quickly to prevent splattering.

• If you can't find crema mexicana, sour cream is an acceptable substitute.