Sundays are for slowing down, catching your breath and taking a moment to just enjoy … whatever.
One of our family Sunday traditions when we lived in Fort Worth, Texas, was to go down to the Stock Yards and have brunch at Joe T. Garcia’s. It’s the place where I was first introduced to Migas.
I remember there was always a line at the bakery and cafe portion of the restaurant, which served breakfast, but we never seemed to mind waiting the 15 or 20 minutes to get a table. I usually took the Sunday paper to read while we were waiting.
The line snaked past the bakery, lined with all sorts of tempting sweet baked and fried treats like churros. We were never tempted to buy any to enjoy while we were waiting. We were saving our stomachs for one thing: Migas.
There are about as many versions of Migas as you can imagine. It’s basically scrambled eggs kicked up an infinite level, with chorizo (Mexican sausage), tomatoes, jalapeños, cheese, tortilla strips and salsa verde or salsa roja.
Migas are very easy to make and it’s a great way to utilize tomatoes and peppers from the garden if you planted them. But before you start, there are several decisions to make:
- Do you want the tortilla strips crispy or soft? If crispy, you start out as I do frying them in oil first before you add other ingredients. If you want them soft, you add them later right before the beaten eggs.
- What kind of cheese? You can use shredded cheddar, pepper jack or even crumble some queso fresco (Mexican cheese).
- How kicked up do you want this to be? Besides tomatoes and onions, you could add diced potatoes and even top it with sliced avocado.
- What kind of peppers do you want to use? Anything from mild (bell peppers or poblano) to wild (habaneros).
- Do you want to use chorizo or a milder Italian sausage? Heck, you could even use leftover barbecued pork, barbecued or roasted chicken that’s been shredded.
- And lastly, what kind of salsa do you want to use? Red or green? Heck, you could even get a tub of both and live a little.
And isn’t that what Sundays are all about? Live a little!
P.S. make yourself a Bloody Mary to pair and garnish with a pickled jalapeño.
Vic’s Migas
Serves 4
Ingredients
3 corn tortillas, sliced in half and then sliced into strips
4 tablespoons safflower, peanut or other high smoke point oil
½ pound of chorizo (Mexican sausage)
2 large red or golden tomatoes, sliced into large cubes
½ a sweet yellow onion, peeled and sliced into ½-inch pieces
3 jalapeños, seeded and sliced
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup crumbled queso fresco
1 avocado, peeled and sliced into wedges
Red or green salsa
Cilantro for garnish (optional)
Directions
Heat oil in large cast-iron or non-stick skillet over high heat. Add tortilla strips and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to turn golden brown and become crunchy. Spoon them out and put them on a dish lined with paper towels to drain oil from them.
Add onion and chorizo to the pan and stir until onion begins to turn translucent and chorizo is cooked.
Add the jalapeños and stir for a couple of minutes, then add the beaten eggs and let the eggs set a minute before you start to scramble them with a spatula. When the eggs are nearly cooked, add the chopped tomatoes and stir until everything is mixed.
Top with cheese, turn off heat, top with avocado wedges, garnish with cilantro and serve with salsa.