The best Huevos Rancheros I ever had were when I was 13, in the Trader Vic's restaurant of the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo. No Huevos Rancheros have ever come close, and it must be said that I order them pretty much whenever I see them on a brunch menu.
Cape Cod's gastronomic offerings are about as far away from cosmopolitan Tokyo's as can be, so when I woke up craving Huevos Rancheros this morning, I knew this would have to be a homemade job. It is a wet, cold, grey and dank day today so I decided to work along the principles of "use what you have" and compose my own version of the dish, without a trip to the supermarket.
This basically meant no cilantro and no avocado for the dish, but it was amazing without them. I think that this may even be one of the best things that I have ever made.
2 eggs
2 mini corn tortillas or one regular sized one
1/2 cup Duck Fat Refried Beans (or canned refried beans)
1/2 cup Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce or (regular canned tomato sauce to which you have added some cumin and hot sauce)
Cotija cheese for garnish
Your favorite hot sauce for garnish ( I used Cholula green hot sauce which is one of my go-tos)
1 tsp vegetable oil ( if you have chili crisp in your fridge, you could add a dash of that to the pan for an additional kick to the dish.)
Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.
As soon as it shimmers, add the tortillas and heat through rapidly, about 20 seconds on each side. Remove from the pan to a paper towel lined plate and crack both eggs into the pan.
Cook the eggs until the yolks are cooked to your likeness. I like mine runny so this process took about a minute.
Put the tortillas on a plate and top with the Duck Far Refried Beans. Add the eggs, top with the Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce, some additional hot sauce and the Cotija cheese, crumbled.
Inhale and enjoy.