Recipe: Huevos Rancheros

HUEVOS RANCHEROS
Source: Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures: Recipes and Stories by Rick Bayless, Lanie Bayless (Rick Bayless and his daughter Lanie)
Servings: 4

4 corn tortillas
A little vegetable oil to brush or spray on tortillas
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 to 2 fresh jalape o or serrano chiles
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, bacon drippings or fresh pork lard (divided use)
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
Salt
8 eggs
2 to 3 ounces Mexican fresh cheese (queso fresco), goat cheese, salted, pressed farmer's cheese, or feta cheese (1/2 to 3/4 cup when crumbled)
A small handful of fresh cilantro leaves, optional

Tomatoes: Tip off liquid and discard.
Chiles: Break off stems and discard. Cut each chile into 4 pieces.
Onion: Cut off top and bottom and discard. Cut in half from top to bottom. Peel off papery outside layers and discard. Cut halves in thin slices-about 1/8 inch.
Garlic: Peel. Cut cloves in half.
Cheese: Crumble. (Mexican cheese will crumble finely, goat cheese and feta will be bigger, moister pieces)
Oven: Turn on to 250 .

Heat tortillas. Lay a square of foil on counter top. Lightly brush or spray both sides of each tortilla with vegetable oil. Stack one on top of the other on foil. Wrap completely in foil and place in oven.

Make sauce. In blender, combine tomatoes and chiles. Cover and blend until smooth. Measure 1 tablespoon of oil, drippings or lard into medium-size (4- to 6-quart) saucepan. Set over medium heat. When hot, add onion. Cook-stir frequently-until golden brown-about 5 minutes. Press garlic through garlic press into pot. Stir well and raise heat to
medium-high. After 1 minute, add tomato mixture. Stir frequently until mixture starts to thicken, but not as much as bottled spaghetti sauce-about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and remove from heat. Taste and add more salt if you think necessary.

Fry eggs. Crack eggs into large bowl, being careful not to break any yolks. Set large (12-inch) skillet (non-stick is WAY easier to work with) over medium to medium-low heat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil (or 1 tablespoon in each skillet), drippings or lard. Pour eggs into skillet. Sprinkle with a little salt. Cook 4 to 5 minutes-without
flipping them-until as done as you like. If white doesn't completely set, cover pan briefly with cookie sheet or lid.

Finish dish. Set sauce over medium heat to rewarm. If sauce has gotten thick, stir in a little water. Remove tortillas from oven. Unwrap and use tongs or spatula to transfer 1 tortilla to each dinner plate.
Use spatula to separate eggs. Transfer 2 eggs to each tortilla. Spoon sauce over eggs, leaving yolks uncovered. Sprinkle with cheese and cilantro leaves. Serve right away.