Cooking for One: Breakfast for Dinner
Vegetarian Migas with Spicy Ranchero Sauce, Homemade Tortilla Chips and Simple Arugula Salad with Lime Dressing
By Eileen Conlan
I’m a breakfast-for-dinner kind of girl, but you’ll be hard-pressed to see me flipping pancakes into the night. Though I like the idea of fluffy stack of caked drenched in syrup at midnight, I have a taste for savory foods, so I love egg dishes with some spice and a side of fresh, cool arugula to temper the heat. One of my vegetarian friends just recently married a Texas transplant who loves traditional Mexican food, so when she found out I’d made migas once, (inspired by chef Susan Torres of New York’s Mexican restaurant, Suenos), she invited me over to teach her how.
In this recipe, I made my own tortilla chips by cutting flat corn tortillas into fours with a pizza cutter and frying them in vegetable oil, then draining on paper towels and adding a bit of sea salt. But if there’s a Mexican restaurant in your neighborhood you’d rather pick them up from, feel free! It will cut the time down significantly, and as long as they’re fresh, it will taste just as good.
Spicy Ranchero Sauce
2 large, ripe tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small white onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper (more or less, depending on your taste)
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (optional)
sea salt to taste
Puree ingredients in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan coated in vegetable oil and cook on low heat for 20 minutes to bring out the flavors. Heat again right before serving.
Vegetarian Migas
Serves 4
1 zucchini, sliced and halved (or use sauteed spinach instead)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 eggs, lightly beaten
30 homemade corn tortilla chips, from small corn tortillas
chopped cilantro for garnish
Steam zucchini until al dente, set aside.
Next cook the eggs: Add the oil to the pan then add the eggs and zucchini on low heat. Add the chips, and with a spatula, crush the chips into the mixture as you stir. Cook for about five minutes, and remove from heat quickly, as they continue to cook. Reheat the ranchero sauce, and ladle into medium sized bowls. Line the sides of the bowl with a few extra tortilla chips for scooping and dipping. Add the eggs on top, and garnish with cilantro.
Try your own variations on this relatively simple dish—you could add avocado, beans, bacon, chorizo or queso blanco—to punch it up.
Simple Arugula Salad with Lime Dressing
Drizzle a large plate with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add arugula and 1-2 tsp of lime juice. Toss. Garnish with a bit of sea salt to bring all the flavors together.
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