Huevos Motuleños for Breakfast or Dinner

JG and I eat a lot of beans and rice, and I often make extra rice to have on hand for leftovers-fried-rice. [We strongly believe that everything is better with fried egg.] This week, however, we somehow ended up with too many beans. I thought to myself, as I always do when putting away leftovers, "How would that taste with a fried egg on top?" And I realized that, of course, it would taste excellent because it would be huevos motuleños, or "eggs like the guys in Motul, (Yucatan) make 'em." And that's what we had for dinner the next night.

Cans of beans, jars of [homemade] salsa, and packages of corn tortillas are staples in my house. They're also cheap enough to buy that I'm going to suggest you go out and get them if you don't already have them and make huevos motuleños this weekend. They're a tasty midweek dinner and they're a killer weekend breakfast.


Recipe: Huevos Motuleños

Black beans, queso fresca [fresh cheese, like farmer's cheese], and ham are traditional here, but I used queso seca [a crumbly salty cheese like feta] and prosciutto, and I'm sure pintos, melty cheddar or canadian bacon would work... and the cheese and meat can be omitted entirely without too much regret. Really, use whatever you like; it'll still taste great if inauthentic. Call it "huevos cambrigina."

Serves 4
12 corn tortillas
1- 14+ oz can black beans
1 tablespoon water
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1- 16 oz jar salsa
1/2 cup crumbled or shredded cheese
4 slices of ham, prosciutto, or other pork-based deli meat [optional]
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
4 eggs

cilantro to garnish

Add water, garlic, and oregano to beans and heat through. In a separate container, bring salsa to the boil. [I dumped the beans et al. into one container, salsa in another, and nuked them together for 2 minutes.]

In a large, dry skillet [not non-stick], toast both sides of each tortilla over medium heat until lightly spotty and puffy, wrap them all in a clean towel, and set aside. In the same pan, crisp pork product and remove to a paper towel lined plate. [optional]

Place one hot tortilla on each of 4 plates. Divide beans evenly over the tortillas, top with pork product [optional] and sprinkle with cheese [optional]. Place another tortilla on top of each stack.

Add oil to skillet and fry the eggs until the edges are crispy but the yolks are still soft. Transfer one egg to the top of each stack. Generously pour hot salsa around the sides and garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately with knife and fork. Use spare tortillas to mop up the tasty goo left on the plate.