Thursday 2 June 2011

A Mexican-Style Brunch


Lately I've been somewhat addicted to eggy brunches. Fried potatoes topped with a poached egg, flecks of chorizo littering the plate and staining the potatoes often feature. Other times it will be a mildly spiced kedgeree with a fried egg, it's yolk spilling itself, coating rice grains.

A favourite is a spicy Mexican-style brunch. Spicy tomato sauce (which, I'll confess is more often than not a leftover pasta sauce tarted up with a bit of hot smoked paprika) softens toasted corn tortillas, while creamy smoky black beans tempered the palate. A zingy guacamole was, in hindsight, an element too far. Surprisingly, it was the black beans that stole the show so here they are.

Refried Beans

Serves 2

390gr cooked black beans with the water (I used Sainsburys Organic tetrapak)
1 tsp chopped thyme
2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
1 tsp chopped stalks of coriander
1 small white onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 chipotle chilli, or chipotle chilli flakes
1/2 tsp salt
Coriander and a wedge of lime, to garnish

In a saucepan with a little oil, add the bacon rashers, chopped finely. Fry until the fat is released and the meat takes on some colour. Dice the onion and mince the garlic and fry slowly until softened. Add the thyme and coriander stalks. Meanwhile, add the chipotle chilli flakes, or soften the chipotle chilli in hot water - if the latter, whizz in a processor and add to the pan. Add the beans with the water in the pack and then add the salt. Simmer for 40 minutes, adding more water if they're a little dry. Stir it often - it has the tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan very easily. Take off the heat and garnish with a little chopped coriander and a wedge of lime.

It freezes well in individual portions to whip out of the freezer for a quick brunch.

14 comments:

German said...

I having the feeling that mexican cooking style is starting to become popular in England. At the moment Madrid is the only city in europe that you can ave the best mexican food, but i think london will catch up

Anonymous said...

I love this kind of hearty eggy brunch - have been making lots of frittatas recently. Did you make the corn tortillas too? Have been looking for a good recipe...

David J Constable said...

Looks fantastic! There is very little that is not made better by adding a fried egg on top!

Gordon White said...

Just had one of those exciting moments where you realise that you already have every single ingredient listed in a very appealing recipe... Right down to the same tetrapak!

Love your work, as ever.

BeccaRothwell said...

I was looking for a refried beans recipe recently, but they all seemed to advise soaking and cooking dried beans rather than using ready cooked. As I wanted the beans there and then, and I'm just not organised enough to soak the beans a day ahead I thought I'd have a go with some ready cooked tinned beans. Unfortunately none of the shops near me seem to sell them, or pinto beans which would have been the alternative.

Great to know ready cooked beans do work so well though. It would never have occurred to me to add bacon too. Brilliant!

Helen said...

LUSH. I was craving Mexican something mental after the weekend when we were tragically denied!

Hungry as a bear said...

This looks like the perfect hangover cure...ominomnomnom.

Richard said...

I love Mexican cuisine and it is definitely on the up. Thanks for the recipe.

Dan said...

Ohhh heuvos rancheros yum! Crumble some cheese between the beans and eggs and top it all with a few wanks of Tamazula. Along with a batch of strong coffee, that'll get me outta bed.

An American in London said...

I think the key question is where you buy consistently-good corn tortillas in town. Also, assuming I've gotten my hands on fresh corn tortillas, I like to use a fresh tomato salsa on my huevos rancheros.

Hollow Legs said...

German - I think so too. I never thought of MAdrid as very Mexican-orientated!

Little Loaf - No, I buy them frozen

David - Thanks! I agree.

Gordon - excellent, that is one happy moment.

Becca - Life is too short to be cooking beans from dried. Sometimes. You should ALWAYS add bacon.

Helen - how cruelly we were denied :(

hungry - in fact, yes!

Richard - no worries, hope you enjoy it.

Dan - dammit I didn't think of cheese.

AAIL - I buy mine frozen from Casa Mexico in Bethnal Green. Fresh tomato salsa is all well and good, but readily available tomatoes (at least down this end) tend to be rather watery and tasteless.

An American in London said...

That's a great tip (Casa Mexico). Out of curiosity - are you buying these frozen ones, or do they also stock fresh ones?

http://www.casamexico.co.uk/products/frozen_white_corn_tortillas-1036-40.htm

Very true re: watery tomatoes out of season, but they cut the heaviness of the huevos rancheros, even if they're a bit tasteless. Onions, cilantro and chili always help.

An American in London said...

Oh sorry, just saw your Q&A with the Little Loaf. Too bad they're frozen. I was getting excited about not having friends and family schlepp fresh ones over from the US (or having to make my own with masa).

mobile said...

In my opinion it looks great this mexican brunch and for sure it is delicious. i will try it tomorrow morning, thanks a lot for sharing.