Huevos Rancheros Nachos with Avocado Crema

After making this Ratatouille Brunch Bake for Mother’s Day last month, I knew I had to make some equivalently awesome breakfasty-brunchy item–preferably with a bit more manly-manness– for Father’s Day this morning. These Huevos Rancheros Nachos are what I came up with.

If you’ve never had nachos with a runny egg on top, you need to.

The key to a good plate of nachos is layering, lest you end up with a big old pile of cheese on top and a bunch of dry chips at the bottom. By layering properly, you make sure everything is covered in nachoey goodness–in this case: gooey cheese, soft black beans, crispy bacon and chorizo, a tomato mango salsa, crisp radish slices, and a light avocado crema made from plain yogurt and avocados that tastes a lot like a blissfully guilt-free cross between sour cream and guacamole.

Here, I put a layer of tomato puree at the bottom to give the bottom layer of chips a huevos-rancheros-like soft tortilla consistency (if you want to keep your nachos purely nachos, you can leave the tomato puree part out). Of course, the middle and top layers are crispy-crunchy, as nachos should be. You can also make it vegetarian by leaving out the step with the bacon/chorizo.

So go forth. And conquer brunch.

You’ll need:

• 4 oz. bacon and/or chorizo, chopped
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• ½ cup chopped mango (optional – peaches or nectarines can also be substituted)
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• a handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1 lime (or a lemon, if the current price of limes is giving you hives)
• salt and pepper
• 1 large ripe avocado, pitted
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 3/4 cup plain tomato sauce or tomato puree
• a few big handfuls of quality tortilla chips
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 3-5 eggs
• a small handful of radishes, thinly sliced (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over medium heat, render down your bacon and/or chorizo until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to scoop it out and set aside.

Add the beans to that same pan along with about ½ cup warm water (you can pour off the fat first. I just…didn’t. Carpe diem, and all that.). Cook until softened and warmed through. Smash up the beans a bit with a fork.

While that’s happening, make the salsa by combining the chopped tomato, mango (if using), onion, cilantro, the juice of half your lime, and salt and pepper to taste. Make the crema by combining the avocado, salt and pepper to taste, the juice of the other half of the lime, and the yogurt in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Spread the tomato sauce in a thin layer on the bottom of a baking sheet or baking dish. Add a layer of chips over the salsa, then a layer of beans/cheese, another layer of chips, and more beans and cheese.

Gently crack your eggs on top. Try not to crack them on top of any pointy, sticky-uppy chips, or you’ll risk breaking the yolks.

Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the cheese is melty and the eggs are set but the yolks are still runny, about 15-18 minutes.

To serve, top the nachos with your crispy bacon/chorizo, salsa, avocado crema, and sliced radishes (if using). Serve immediately.

I mean it guys. Immediately.

As in right now.

As in posthaste.

A couple of the eggs got a little bit overly scorched, but you can see the one at the top of the photo is absolute perfection. Just keep an eye on the eggs! Everyone’s oven is different (ours is a particularly temperamental gas contraption), so once you get to about 12 minutes, just keep checking on them periodically. If your egg whites still seem slightly wobbly, but the yolks seem set, don’t worry. The egg whites should continue to set when you remove them from the oven.

Enjoy it guys!

Huevos Rancheros Nachos with Avocado Crema

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 oz. bacon and/or chorizo, chopped
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• ½ cup chopped mango (optional – peaches or nectarines can also be substituted)
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• a handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1 lime (or a lemon, if the current price of limes is giving you hives)
• salt and pepper
• 1 large ripe avocado, pitted
• ½ cup plain yogurt
• ¾ cup tomato sauce or puree
• a few big handfuls of quality tortilla chips
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 5 eggs
• a small handful of radishes, thinly sliced (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over medium heat, render down your bacon and/or chorizo until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to scoop it out and set aside. Add the beans to that same pan along with about ½ cup warm water. Cook until softened and warmed through. Smash them up a bit with a fork.
2. While that’s happening, make the salsa by combining the chopped tomato, mango (if using), onion, cilantro, the juice of half your lime, and salt and pepper to taste. Make the crema by combining the avocado, salt and pepper to taste, the juice of half the lime, and the yogurt in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
3. Spread the tomato sauce in a thin layer on the bottom of a large skillet or baking dish. In the dish, layer your chips with the beans and cheese. Crack your eggs on top. Put in the oven and bake until the cheese is melty and the eggs are set but the yolks are still runny, about 15-18 minutes.
4. To serve, top the nachos with your crispy bacon/chorizo, salsa, avocado crema, and sliced radishes (if using). Serve!

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