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Huevos Rancheros Recipe

Some dishes are unique to families. Although I suspect that huevos rancheros (Spanish for "ranch eggs") are part of many families' traditions, ours was the only family I knew growing up that had eggs prepared this way on a regular basis. In our family lexicon, "huevos" (pronounced wevose, with the beginning like "when" without the n) only means one style of eggs - scrambled eggs that have been cooked in salsa. Huevos rancheros on Mexican restaurant menus are often a slightly different variation - whole eggs, not scrambled, cooked on salsa and served with tortillas. My mother has her particular style of cooking these eggs that she learned from her mother and that I now pass on to you.

Fresh eggs, six
Green onion, 2 chopped all the way including the green parts
Fresh tomato, 1 peeled and chopped if in season, 2 from a can if good fresh tomatoes are not available
One canned jalapeño pepper, sliced*
Olive oil, 2 Tbsp
Oregano, a sprinkling of fresh if available, dry if not
Salt, one shake from a salt shaker for every egg used
Cilantro leaves, fresh and chopped, a couple of Tbsp

Heat oil in a large cast iron frying pan on medium high heat. Add the onions and brown for a minute or two. Add the chopped tomato and let cook for a few minutes on medium high heat until the tomatoes are somewhat cooked and mushy and some of the moisture has evaporated. It's okay if the tomatoes brown a bit. Add the oregano. Add the jalapeño pepper. Crack eggs directly into the pan with the cooking sauce. Add salt. Stir with a spatula to mix in the sauce and to lightly scramble the eggs. Remove from heat when the eggs cook to the desired consistency. If you are using a cast iron pan, remove the eggs from the pan and put into a serving bowl. Otherwise the eggs will continue to cook in the heat of the pan. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Serve with bread or heated tortillas. Serves 2 or 3, depending on how many eggs per person you want.

*Avoid handling jalapeño peppers with your hands. Remove the pepper from the jar with a fork, place on a small plate, and cut with a knife holding the pepper with the fork. If you by accident rub your eyes after directly handling a jalapeño pepper, you'll never forget it. The stinging is very painful. In that case wash your eye out directly with water.

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