Huevos Rancheros (rancher’s eggs) originated on farms and ranches in Mexico. There are many variations but the key to the dish is salsa fresca (fresh sauce).

Fresh sauce starts with fresh vegetables and we prefer roasting them before making the salsa.

We use red pepper, poblano pepper, and one seranno chile pepper for just a bit of heat. You can use hotter peppers if you prefer. Toss the cut vegetables in oil and place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast the vegetables until they begin to soften and brown around the edges.

At this stage turn on the broiler and leave in the oven until they look charred. This only takes a few minutes so watch carefully. Because broilers do not create even heat we rotate the pan after a few minutes.

Place the warm roasted vegetables in a food processor or blender and puree until a sauce begins to form. If using a blender, you may need to add a small amount of tomato sauce to get it started. Puree in batches and keep the sauce chunky.

Once all the vegetables are pureed, add them to a warm sauté pan with oil. Stir in the remaining ingredients and allow to simmer and reduce down. The recipe makes about 6 cups of fresh salsa, and can be made a day ahead. The extra salsa will keep for several days.

We tried cooking the eggs right in the sauce but didn’t care for that method. Despite making a well for the eggs they spread into the sauce, and it was difficult to get them fully cooked. In the end, it was better to cook the eggs, sunny side up, separately. We achieved beautiful eggs and kept our extra salsa egg free.

Be creative when building your rancher’s eggs. Start with your preferred tortillas and crisp them up on a griddle. Spread a generous amount of salsa on the tortillas and top with sliced or diced avocado. Lay the eggs on top of the avocado and sprinkle with cheese. We like both queso fresco (soft fresh white cheese), and shredded cheddar. Then add the finishing touches: sour cream, limes wedges, fresh cilantro, and a pinch of fresh ground pepper. This is a delicious and hearty meal for any time of the day, rancher or not!

Huevos Rancheros

Roasted vegetables:

1/4 cup Olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. Roma tomatoes
1 Red pepper
1 Poblano pepper
1 Serrano chile pepper
1 White onion
4 Cloves garlic

Sauce:

1/4 cup Olive oil
16 oz Tomato sauce
3 T Fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tsp Brown sugar
1/4 tsp Cumin
To taste Salt & pepper

Build Huevos:

Eggs
Tortillas, flour or corn
Avocado, sliced or diced
Cheese & sour cream
Lime & fresh cilantro

Clean the tomatoes and peppers.
Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Chunk the peppers and onion.
Toss the tomatoes, peppers, onion, and garlic in 1/4 cup olive oil.
Place vegetables on a foil lined baking sheet, cut side down.
Roast at 425° until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes.
Turn on broiler and broil the vegetables until they begin to char. This will only take a few minutes. Rotate the pan after 2-3 minutes, broil another 2-3 minutes.
Using a food processor or blender, puree the vegetables in batches until they are a very fine chunk.
Preheat a sauté pan with 1/4 cup olive oil.
Stir in the pureed vegetables, tomato sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and seasoning.
Allow to simmer and cook down about 20 minutes. Makes about 6 cups salsa.
While salsa is simmering, prepare tortillas and avocado.
Cook eggs sunny side up.
Place tortillas on plate and top with salsa, avocado, eggs, cheese, and sour cream.
Garnish with lime wedges and fresh chopped cilantro.

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