Chilaquiles
Yesterday's tortillas, cut and fried crisp, then tossed in red or green salsa and topped with crema, cheese and onion.
What makes it chilaquiles
- Corn tortillas, a day old, cut and fried crisp.
- Simmered briefly in salsa roja or verde.
- Crema, crumbled queso fresco, raw onion — often a fried egg or shredded chicken.
Where it comes from
A way to use up stale tortillas, and one of Mexico's great breakfasts — and hangover cures. The name is often traced to Nahuatl words for chilli and water.
The argument is over texture: some want the totopos still crunchy, sauced at the last second; others let them soften in the salsa almost to a casserole.
How it varies
- Verdes
- In tomatillo salsa.
- Rojos
- In a red salsa of tomato or dried chillies.
- Divorciados
- Half red, half green, on one plate.
Be the first here
Start your own chilaquilesNo one here has made chilaquiles yet. Start it as v1, and every version after is an experiment the next cook can learn from.
Near it
MexicanSalsa verdeTomatillos, green chilli, onion and coriander, boiled or charred and blended — sharp, green, on everything.No one here has made it yet
MexicanTamalesMasa beaten with lard and stock, spread on a corn husk or banana leaf around a filling, folded and steamed.No one here has made it yet