World Recipes

Tacos para Desayuno (Breakfast Tacos)

12 flour tortillas
4 strips bacon, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup green chiles, minced
2/3 cup onions, minced
2/3 cup potatoes, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
Heaping 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
8 ounces chorizo
1 1/4 pounds very lean ground beef
4 eggs, slightly beaten
Refried beans (optional)
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, grated

Fry the bacon until it is soft. Drain grease and remove bacon to a small dish.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over moderate heat and add green chiles, onions, potatoes and garlic. Saute the vegetables until they are well browned, adjusting the heat as necessary, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often. You may have to add a little more olive oil to keep the vegetables from sticking. Add tomatoes and continue cooking for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add salt, cumin and oregano and cook for 1 minute. Add chorizo, breaking it up and stirring it into the vegetables. When the chorizo has browned and released most of its fat, add the ground beef, breaking it up and mixing it with the other ingredients. When the ground beef has browned, add the bacon, cover the skillet, turn the heat to very low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Add the eggs and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until eggs are well incorporated and set.

Spoon filling on each tortilla, add some refried beans, if used, top with cheese, and serve with your favorite hot sauce.

Splatter Dabs

1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Mix all and beat. Pour or ladle onto a hot griddle. Turn over when bubbles form on top of the splatter dabs.

Blue Cornmeal Buttermilk Pancakes

1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup blue cornmeal
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Sift together flour, salt and baking soda. Stir in cornmeal. Add egg and buttermilk and beat just until smooth. Pour 1/4 cup batter for each cake onto a lightly greased, hot griddle. Bake until golden brown on both sides. Serve hot. Makes about 10 pancakes. Pass the maple syrup!

Sourdough Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour, unsifted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Sourdough Starter*
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoon vegetable oil

In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Combine egg, sourdough starter, milk and oil. Stir into the flour mixture until well combined. Using 2 tablespoonful of batter for each pancake, bake on a hot, lightly greased griddle until golden brown, turning once.

* The Sourdough Starter recipe can be found in the "BREADS AND TORTILLAS" section.

Sonora Pancakes

2 cups pancake mix
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cup milk
1 (8 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

In a large bowl combine pancake mix, cumin and chili powder. In a small bowl mix egg and milk together. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Add corn and stir until blended. Heat oil in a large skillet. When hot, pour about 1/4 cup pancake mixture into the pan to form small pancakes. Three or four pancakes can be cooked at one time. When pancakes become fluffy and well-browned on the bottom, flip over and cook on the other side.

Serve with butter and syrup.

Simply the Best Pancake Syrup

3 cups brown sugar (one 1-pound box)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks, broken
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
Zest of one orange or one lemon
1 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Mix brown sugar and water together. Add whole spices and citrus zest. Cover and let steep for several hours. Taste to see if spicy enough and, if so, strain into a decorative glass jar with a lid. Stir in maple and almond extracts. Makes about 2 cups.

Store in the refrigerator.

Santa Fe Eggs

8 large, fresh eggs
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Put all ingredients into a blender on low for 1 minute. Pour all into a greased casserole. Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees F. Serve at once.

Prickly Pear Eggs

1 or 2 fresh nopales
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
4 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1/2 cup red chile sauce
8 eggs
Salt and pepper

Trim and clean the cactus pads. Dice each pad, then cover with salted water in a saucepan, and simmer gently until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain in a sieve and rinse under cold water to rid pads of their sticky, okra-like juice.

In a large skillet, saute the onion in butter or vegetable oil until soft. Add the nopales and red chili sauce and mix well. Break the eggs gently on top of the mixture, cover tightly, and steam until the egg whites are set, 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve directly from the frying pan.

Serves 4.

Variation
Scramble the eggs, stirring them into the mixture in the skillet; continue to stir until the eggs are cooked but still moist. You may also add some chopped cooked bacon, if desired.