The following recipe is my version of this delicious dish Huevos Rancheros. The picture is of the Huevos Rancheros that I had at the Aquarius Restaurant in Santa Cruz. Aquarius Restaurant at 175 W Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 and associated with the Dream Hotel.  If you are in Santa Cruz for breakfast or lunch or dinner don’t pass up eating here because they do have some of the best food in Santa Cruz.  We had dinner there the night before and everything was delicious and I couldn’t resist coming back the next morning.  My husband was in a meeting at the hotel and I was on my own and the Aquarius is the restaurant at the Dream Hotel where we were staying.   

Huevos Rancheros pronounced in Spanish like WeBos Ran theros) means “Rancher Eggs”.  It is a traditional breakfast of Mexico. Huevos Rancheros consists of eggs on top of lightly fried corn tortillas with a chili sauce, avocado slices or guacamole and refried beans.  Non traditional topping like cheese and sour cream have become popular outside of Mexico.

We had some other delicious breakfasts while in Santa Cruz in some smaller, more intimate and neighborhood cafes.  See “Where to Eat Breakfast in Santa Cruz”.  But this Huevos Rancheros ranks up there with one of the best breakfasts!

The following recipe for Huevos Rancheros is my recipe that I created after eating at the Aquarius Restaurant in Santa Cruz.

Huevos Rancheros by Food Huntress

Ingredients:

4 small tomatoes
1 small onion chopped
2 jalapenos chopped
2 small garlic cloves, chopped and smashed
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1  15- 5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
8 corn tortillas (For less calories use 1 tortilla per person)
4 eggs
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup sour cream
1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced

Directions:

Prepare salsa, in a food processer, place tomatoes, onion and jalapenos and process until finely chopped.  Add the jalapenos, 1 clove garlic, hot sauce.  Stir in the cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil to a skillet and saute the sauce for a few minutes.  Set aside.

In fry pan add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in pan and heat until hot.  Lightly fry each tortilla one at a time, flip each and fry on the second side.  Add more oil if needed.  Set aside on paper towels to drain. 

Drain oil out of pan and add the beans to the same pan and add 1 chopped garlic, 1/2 cup water and a little salt.  Cook until warm and smash a little.  Set aside in bowl.

Add 1/2 cup water to fry pan.  When water is steaming but not boiling add eggs.  Turn heat down to low.  Add lid and cook until eggs are lightly cooked.  (will cook more in oven)  

For each plate, add 1/4 of the beans on bottom of 4 plates, add 1 corn tortilla, add 1/8 of the salsa on top and spread out,  sprinkle with cilantro, add the 2nd tortilla, (for fewer calories use one tortilla) place egg on top, add cheese.  Set plate into warm oven for a few minutes until cheese is melted.  

Place 1/4 avocado sliced on top of the huevos rancheros and sour cream and additional salsa and serve.

Makes 4 servings