I’ve never really been a “pancake” kinda gal. I’m big on savory….almost always. So, when I order breakfast at a restaurant it’s almost always big nasty breakfast burritos, barbacoa, chilaquiles or huevos rancheros. This is my personal “at home” versions of this traditional Mexican dish.
The Sauce:
⅔ medium sweet yellow onion, peeled and rough chopped
8 lg dried chile de arbol, stems and seeds removed
½ tsp garlic chopped
1-28 oz can diced petite tomatoes in juice
1 can of water
⅔ tbs olive oil
⅔ tbs chicken bullion
The Potatoes and Bacon:
2 large russet potatoes, peeled, halved and diced
1 tbs olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
8 slices of hickory smoked bacon
The Tostadas:
8 tostadas
1-16 oz can refried beans, or homemade
8 lg eggs
2 c Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
¼ c fresh cilantro, chopped
½ medium sweet yellow onion, sliced thin
About 10 or 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
Start off by pureeing the first 5 ingredients in your blender. Next, over medium high heat, heat the oil in a large sauté pan for about ½-1 minute, don’t let the oil burn, you just want to get it hot. CAREFULLY pour in the sauce mixture. This WILL simmer, splatter and pop. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the bullion. Stir periodically as it cooks. Allow the sauce to cook down to just about half of what it was. This should take roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour.
While the sauce is going, preheat your oven to 400°. (Keep in mind, I have an old 1970’s Ranch House double oven, so Temps and times may vary.)
Toss the potatoes in oil and salt. Dump the potatoes out on a lined sheet pan. Try to arrange so they aren’t touching. Slide the trey into the oven and allow to cook for roughly 20 minutes. Pull the trey out and give them a toss with a spatula. Return to oven for an additional 20-30 minutes or until crisp. Remove from oven and set aside. You can cover loosely with foil if you still have a bit of cooking to do.
Once the sauce is about done, heat the beans up in a small sauce pot and season as desired. Cook the bacon to desired donness. Transfer to paper towels to drain and set aside. You can now fry your eggs. I fry mine just between over easy and medium. Now, you can fry the eggs in ⅓ of the bacon grease left over from frying your bacon or fry them up in olive or vegetable oil. So, heat the oil up in a nonstick pan over medium-medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, crack your egg over the oil. (The oil may splash up on you, so just be mindful of that.) Allow the egg to cook until the white is no longer translucent. If you are a kitchen master, you can flip that egg with the pan, if not, use a spatula to carefully flip the egg over. Allow to cook to your desired donness. You can tell how done the egg is by pressing lightly on the yolk. Remove from pan, set aside and repeat. If you’re comfortable cooking multiple eggs at once, by all means, crack a bunch in there and cook them all at the same time.
By this time, everything should be done and ready to assemble. Set up 4 plates. Place 2 tostadas on each plate along with potatoes and 2 slices of bacon each. Take 1 tostada in your hand and spread ⅛ of the beans on it. Repeat with remaining tostadas. Slather each with about 2 tbs of the sauce per tostada. Top each with 1 egg, some cheese, cilantro, onions and tomatoes. You can serve these with my warm salsa or jalapeño sauce.
Girl-Chef Tastes 