Happy Friday, Party-Makers!
For the next couple of weeks, we’re celebrating Latino Heritage and Culture. What this means for our household is that we get to eat ALLLLL of my favorite Latino recipes. I’m not mad about it, and neither is Ben.
Honestly, Benjamin is the biggest celebrator of our bi-cultural life together. This man has fully embraced my obsession with black beans, salad, and quesadillas for breakfast (he’s also perfected cooking that for me on mornings when I have a hard time getting out of bed, which is most mornings). He initiates most of our dance parties, he has become Queso Fresco’s biggest fan, and best of all, he eats everything I ever put in front of him. Sometimes when I watch him roll up his tortilla to scoop up the leftover juices of a meal, or pour avocado into his chicken soup, I can imagine my Abuelita giving him a head nod while scooping him up another serving.
When I was growing up, my Abuelita would make Chilaquilas at least once a week for breakfast. Under her kitchen reign, she was a firm believer that all meals should be a little glam. Chilaquilas (not to be confused with Mexican chilaquiles), are a sort of spruced up quesadilla. What makes them different from regular quesadillas, is the frothy egg coating on the outside that gets fried and crisped up. When they’re done cooking, you can top them with tomato salsa and enjoy the marrying of textures between the crunchy egg exterior, the soft melted cheese, and the smooth salsa. Bonus points if you add crumbled up Queso Fresco on top of the salsa, because who can ever have enough Queso Fresco? Not us. Not ever.
Adding the one extra step of making the egg coating only takes about 5-10 extra minutes to the cooking, and each chilaquila is fully cooked in about 3 minutes. Just in time for three whole days of brunch potential, these chilaquilas are the perfect way to start off your Labor Day weekend!
Happy Brunching, mi gente!
Guatemalan Chilaquilas
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs Egg whites divided
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 package queso fresco sliced
- 2 tbs grapeseed oil
Instructions
- Begin by dividing egg whites from yolk and beating the egg whites with a hand mixer on high for about three minutes. Mixture should be white, with peaks forming, and somewhat stiff
- Once egg whites have been fluffed, add egg yolk and beat until combined. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Dip quesadilla in egg mixture and coat on both sides.
- Coat a pan with oil of your choice, I used 2 TBS of grapeseed oil, and heat over medium high. Add Chilaquila to the hot oil and fry on both sides until slightly browned. This should take about 3 minutes.
- Serve with tomato salsa and sides. We love to have this with black beans, a fried egg and some greens. Enjoy!
Mary-Beth Johnson
Mary-Beth is a creative, food-obsessed, Georgia transplant living Chicago. She is proudly and fiercely Latina, and more specifically Chapina. In her day to day she is a food educator to students around Chicagoland aged 3 to 80+, both virtually and in-person. She is passionate about cultivating the truth that every person has an understanding of food that deserves being brought to the table, and that time in the kitchen can be sacred, passionate, and an act of love for self and others. Outside the kitchen you can find her at the intersections of infertility, chronic illness, and a deep love for the dignity of all humans. She hopes to create a space that is holistic about the role of food in the social, political, relational, and physiological dynamics of our world.
