# Authentic Chilaquiles Recipe by Laura la Cámara: A Step-by-Step Guide
## Introduction
Laura la Cámara, renowned chef and owner of Don't Ramen restaurant in Mexico City, shares a beloved traditional recipe for chilaquiles, a dish deeply rooted in Mexican cuisine. Originating from the streets of Mexico City, chilaquiles have become a cherished comfort food known for its vibrant flavors and versatility. In this article, we follow Laura's expertise as she guides us through each step to create a delicious batch of chilaquiles using ingredients like tomatillos, serrano peppers, garlic, onion, and cilantro.
## Preparing the Sauce
Begin by selecting small tomatillos for their intense flavor. Remove their thin skins and seeds before use. Laura recommends using three serrano peppers, adjusting based on desired spice level. For a milder version, deseed them. Finely chop the garlic and onion, reserving the green tops of the onions for garnish.
Combine the prepared tomatillos, peppers, garlic, onion, cilantro, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth, ensuring no large chunks remain. Pour this mixture into a pot with 4 cups of water, bringing it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, allowing the sauce to thicken. For a brighter green color, add a few raw cilantro leaves towards the end of cooking.
## Frying Tortillas
Cut corn tortillas into triangles or strips. Heat vegetable oil with high smoke point in a skillet until it shimmers. Fry the tortilla pieces until crispy and golden brown, removing them as they sizzle. Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil. These fried tortillas, known as chilaquiles, are perfect for absorbing the rich sauce.
## Cooking Onions and Garlic
In the same pot used for the sauce, sauté chopped onions until translucent with a touch of sweetness. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant but not browned, ensuring they meld into the sauce without overpowering it.
## Simmering the Sauce
Once the sauce has thickened to your liking, add the fried tortillas, cooked onions, and garlic. Stir gently to combine, allowing the tortillas to absorb the flavorful sauce. Simmer until everything is well-coated and heated through.
## Incorporating Cilantro
For a fresh burst of flavor, Laura suggests adding raw cilantro leaves towards the end of cooking. This step enhances the green color and adds a vibrant note to the dish without overpowering the other ingredients.
## Cooking Eggs (Huevos Rancheros)
Crack an egg into a non-stick skillet with a touch of oil. Cook until the white is set but the yolk remains runny for the best texture. Season with salt to taste. Optional toppings include queso fresco, crumbled cotija cheese, or a dollop of crema.
## Assembling and Serving
Spoon the chilaquiles onto a plate and top with the cooked egg. Garnish with green onions, extra cilantro, and a squeeze of lime for brightness. Serve with warm tortillas on the side for scooping. Chilaquiles are a hearty meal but can also be enjoyed as a breakfast dish or paired with shredded chicken.
## Conclusion
Laura's recipe offers a simple yet flavorful approach to chilaquiles, emphasizing the importance of fresh ingredients and traditional techniques. Whether you're a home cook or a seasoned chef, this method ensures a dish that honors Mexico's rich culinary heritage while offering versatility for personal touches. Enjoy experimenting with different toppings and variations to make this beloved dish your own!
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi I am Laura la cámara from don't ramen restaurant in Mexico City Carla in San Francisco and I am gonna make Sheila Sheila this morning from my cookbook my Mexico City kitchen recipes and convictions that just came out I'm gonna teach you this really really straightforward easy salads out of it which is a style that you can use for anything these are tomatillos this fruit that has this very thin skin you supposed to take away before using and usually I like tomothy used to be smaller because they have more flavor so we're gonna put tomatillos serrano peppers a little bit of garlic a little bit of onion cilantro hook everything together with a bit of salt and then we're gonna blend them together and cook it again so I rented tomatillos with the Serrano's just take that because it's bitter you also need to take the stems away from the tomatillos at you and any skin of course the Serrano in I want to use 3 Chile's this time you can adjust and usually if you don't want it to be very spicy you can take out the seeds cut this onions we'll leave this part for the end there and I use 4 cups of water the water will be blended and that will be the sauce you don't want it to be a lot of water so that you don't have enough flavor and we put our garlic in there oh it's gonna be blended later so you don't have to be I mean you just I just want to be mindful of not having skins and things that you don't want later in the sauce while we cook our base for the sauce we're gonna fry the tortillas any vegetable oil that has a high burning level is good you can see that the oil starts sort of like moving around you see these little veins in the oil and that's when you know it's ready to go I mean chilaquiles are a very good way to use leftover tortillas because as I say it's revised process of frying them I like to cut them in triangles I divide the the square in eighths so if you put the tortilla and it sizzles then it's ready to go I just want to separate them so that they're nice and crispy all of them a little bit of crispy nests this is boiling and you want to let it boil until the tomatoes looser brightness until the green is actually turning into a little like hazy green take out those of them that seem ready that is that we are taking everything out okay so here we have our fried tortillas like they need to crack so this is cilantro that we have already ready to go washed what I like to do with cilantro is take the only the leaves only the top part just so that it you don't have many of the stems you can have the top part of the stems but not the lower part of the stem I love frequency if it really makes for a good sausage chop this really coarsely you want to make sure that you don't break it that you don't smush it but it's gonna end up going in a hot sauce anyways while this is cooking we are preparing our chopped onion as long as you have chopped onions that is nice and fresh and fragrant and it adds sort of a little crunch and a nice spice to the chilaquiles then you're set so our onion is cooked not not totally soft but the outer parts are softer do you see this is the sort of the yellowish brownish color that you want in the so much feel the chill a also is a whole garlic clove put the rest of the water okay so here we have our pot again where we boiled the sauce we're gonna put the our blend to boil down you want a thicker consistency when it breaks into a boil you lower it and let it simmer for a bit it's like me you forgot to put in the extra cilantro just take a little bit of the sauce out put the seat on throw in the one that is not chopped and we will do eight okay so this cylinder will make the sauce a little bit more green salt so we're gonna cook our egg we're going to do a little bit of oil crack the egg Boop this is a very this is a very easy patent because it's a nonstick pan I like adding like putting the oil over them right go right add the sauce to the chilaquiles let me see them and saw what these chilaquiles down here you want them to be stupid not to to be the onions see you have it all we're gonna add a little bit on the side there we didn't put any salt on the egg so I like to put salt at the end not avvocato really great some of this cheese that's it you have your chilaquiles ready to go this would be a portion for anybody in Mexico you can also have two eggs you have an egg and shredded chicken you can have an egg and Keven eat as people just add everything chilaquiles are very much a base you shouldn't break this egg mmm got that egg yolk there for the recipe click the link and the description below\n"
