Tonight we decided to go with breakfast for dinner. It’s always good to spice things up a little bit! Because winter is just around the corner and all of those fall/winter veggies are gracing the market’s shelves, we decided to go with a wintertime version of our Summertime Huevos Rancheros recipe. What a spectacular idea that was! The acorn squash and the homemade chili sauce really make this dish, and we have a special little surprise to replace those corn tortillas.
Ok, so just forget I ever said we were going to get on a Bridgeport kick, because for last night’s meal we went with a beer right out of Pennsylvania: Weyerbacher’s Heresy. In appreciation of National Stout Day, we had to go with a stout! I did’t even know if this was a great pairing or not, but who cares it was National Stout Day! It was in the fridge and it was staring at me, begging to be consumed. Couldn’t turn it down! Well as a matter of fact it was the perfect pairing! Stout’s tend to have a coffee like aroma and taste especially if they are brewed with coffee and Heresy just happens to be brewed with roasted coffee beans! What goes better together than breakfast and coffee! Duh! We had to do it and it ended up being the perfect pairing for this dish. For the unfortunate folks, like us, that live out west your chances of getting anything from Weyerbacher are very slim. We just happened to have a bottle lying around. If you do make it back east, I suggest stopping at your local bottle shop and grabbing something from Weyerbacher. They very seldom disappoint.
Huevos Rancheros are such a classic New Mexican dish, and we are always looking for new ways to spruce up an old egg recipe. So, with all of the squash sitting on the shelves at the market, it’s the perfect time of year to make a spectacular winter version of huevos rancheros.
We made a special green chili sauce, or I guess I should call it a GARLIC green chili sauce, since it’s comprised of about 8 cloves of garlic, but we love garlic, so we were ok with this. If you aren’t in a garlicky mood, then I suggest toning down the garlic a bit. Although, I find it strange that you would not be obsessed with garlic. =)
Breakfast Amazingness
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Instead of your general rice and bean mixture for your classic huevos recipe, we went with a roasted acorn squash, carrot and navy bean medley. Seasoned with sugar and spice, this vegetable concoction was unbelievable! It’s something that Zach whipped up with his brilliant mind and made something spectacular. I have a feeling we will be using this vegetable mix with many other recipes!
Once You Take One Bite, You Won’t be Able to Stop
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We topped the sauce with ripened sliced avocado and diced roma tomatoes. A garnish of fresh cilantro really brought this dish together, but wait…what did we use instead of corn tortillas? Yup, that’s right: grilled polenta. I’ve been wanting to cook polenta for a long time. It’s so easy and so quick, and I just never think to make it. This was such a great idea, it was almost like a sope when we were done with them. Don’t be afraid of the polenta. You’ll be in heaven when it’s done.
Cilantro Brings Life to Any Mexican-Style Dish
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Here are the steps in building your wintertime huevos:
Step 1
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Step 2
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Step3
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Step 4
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Step 5
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Step 6
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Enjoy!
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Yummo!
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Wintertime Huevos Rancheros
Ingredients
- 6 cups of water + 1 1/2 cups
- 2 cups yellow corn meal, coarse grain preferred
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus a little extra
- olive oil
- 1 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 large serrano pepper, seeded and diced
- 8 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 small can green chilis
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely finely chopped + extra for garnish
- 1 acorn squash, skin removed and diced into 1/2 – 1 inch cubes
- 4 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 can navy beans, drained
- 1 tablespoon mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 4 eggs, cooked the way you like
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 roma tomato, seeds removed and diced
Instructions
- In a medium sized saucepan, combine the 6 cups of water and the corn meal. Whisk together over medium-high heat, then lower the heat, and stir often until the mixtures is thick but tender about 3-4 minutes. Add the parmesan cheese, butter, cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir until melty, then remove from heat. Butter a 10 inch springform pan if you have it. This makes things a whole lot easier. Pour the polenta into the the pan. Once cool, cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours.
- About 45 minutes before you polenta is ready, start with the other veggies. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Combine the squash, carrots, a couple tablespoons of olive oil and salt onto a baking sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes or until tender.
- Meanwhile get started on your sauce. In a saute pan, combine a couple tablespoons of olive oil, the onion and jalapeno. Add a dash of salt and saute until tender. Add the garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Add the flour and stir to combine for about 1-2 minutes. Add the water, vinegar, lime juice, pepper and chilis. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Pour into a blender or food processor, add the cilantro, and pulse until combined. Refrigerate until you are ready to use.
- In a saucepan, start cooking your beans. Add the oregano, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Let cook until beans are tender and then add the carrot, squash mixture to the saucepan. Let cook for about 4-5 minutes then lower the heat to keep warm.
- Next, preheat your grill to medium. Remove your polenta from the fridge. With a cookie cutter, cut circles out of the polenta, using as much of it as you can. Don’t be wasteful! Now ours were a little thick, so Zach cut them in half horizontally. We have a lot of leftovers by the way! Brush the polenta circles with olive oil on both sides and then grill for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve immediately. They are best warm!
- Now start assembling your huevos. Start with the polenta (we used three circles each – this was plenty). Top the polenta with the squash mixture, then topped that with the garlic chili sauce. We sliced an avocado and diced a tomato to sprinkle on top. Use any veggies you would like. Top with two eggs, sunny side up, and garnish with cilantro!
2.5
https://dev.cookingandbeer.com/2012/11/wintertime-huevos-rancheros/
