Chorizo Chilaquiles and Eggs Two Ways

I. Love. Breakfast. And chorizo. And any dish served directly out of a big ol' cast iron skillet. So combine breakfast and chorizo and a cast iron skillet, and I'm sold. Enter chilaquiles, the heavenly synthesis of sauce-drenched fried tortillas, eggs, and, in this case, chorizo. And although some people are staunchly in the red- or green-sauce chilaquiles camp, I am (not surprisingly) equally opportunity, so I'm going to go ahead and give you recipes for both. Oh, and in case you need chilaquiles in your face, like, NOW, I give you permission to skip the homemade sauce and pick up a can of your favorite enchilada sauce instead. I promise the homemade sauces are worth the effort, but I get it if you just can't wait.

Chorizo Chilaquiles and Eggs Two Ways

Serves 6 (or 2 if you're me and my husband)

Ingredients for Smoky Salsa Roja (Red Sauce)

• 10 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded

• 5 arbol chiles, stemmed and seeded

• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce

• 5 cloves garlic, peeled

• 2 plum tomatoes, cored and cut in quarters

• 1 small white or yellow onion, peeled and quartered

• Kosher salt

Directions for Making Smoky Salsa Roja

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chiles, and cook, turning as needed, until lightly toasted all over, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and cover with boiling water; let sit until chiles are soft, about 20 minutes. Drain chiles, reserving 1 cup liquid. Transfer chiles and reserved soaking liquid to a food processor or blender. Add chipotle chile to food processor.

While chiles are soaking, return the skillet to high heat. Add garlic, tomatoes, and onion, and cook, turning as needed, until blackened all over. Transfer to food processor with chiles and puree until smooth, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Ingredients for Salsa Verde (Green Sauce)

• 6 ounces tomatillos, husked and rinsed

• 2 large green chiles (such as Poblano or Anaheim)

• 5 cloves garlic, peeled

• 2 small white or yellow onions, peeled and quartered

• 2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, stemmed

• 1 bunch cilantro, stemmed

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 1 lime

Directions for Making Salsa Verde

Preheat broiler on high. If you don't have a broiler (or, like me, yours doesn't work properly), preheat oven to 500 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place tomatillos, chiles, garlic and onion on the baking sheet. Broil/bake until the tomatillos and chiles are blackened in spots. Allow the large chiles to cool slightly, and remove the stems and seeds and peel off the skins. (Pro tip: The more charred the skins are the easier this will be to do. Also, some swear by putting the hot chiles in a paper bag for 5 minutes before trying to peel the skins.)

Transfer everything to a food processor or blender, along with the cilantro and sugar, and puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime.

Universal Ingredients for Chilaquiles:

• 1 (12-ounce) bag of restaurant-style corn tortilla chips. The thicker/crispier the better here because they're going to be drenched in sauce. You could also fry your own corn tortillas if you want to get REAL fancy/involved.

• 1 pound fresh chorizo (I am partial to the chorizo from my local artisan chorizo purveyor, The Choriman, but the stuff you can get in most grocery stores will suffice.)

• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 6 large eggs

• Crumbled cotija (or feta) cheese, sour cream (or Mexican crema or Greek yogurt), cilantro, minced or pickled red onion, diced avocado, sliced jalapenos, sliced radishes, lime wedges for serving, and hot sauce for serving

Directions for Chilaquiles:

Heat a 12" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chorizo, breaking it into small pieces. Add black beans and sauce of choice. Stir to combine. Lower heat to medium-low and add chips. Toss to coat, adding 1/4 cup water if necessary to loosen. Make six divets in the saucy chips using the back of a spoon. Break the eggs one at a time into a small bowl and slide them into the divets. Cover the skillet loosely and allow eggs to cook to desired doneness (we are a runny yolk family, but I won't judge if you feel differently). Remove skillet from heat and top with desired toppings. Place skillet on dining table (on a trivet, of course), and get out of the way of anyone that might take you down in their rush to get to the table.

Salud!

Do ahead: Either salsa can be made several days in advance. Also, both salsas are delicious on enchiladas or just with tortilla chips as a dip, so you may want to double the recipe.

P.S. Chilaquiles make an AWESOME camp breakfast for all you campers out there. Just make the sauce in advance, and everything else comes together in a snap over the campfire or camp stove.