Recipe of the Day

Chilaquiles and courgette stuffed omelette

I dislike recipes that don't get to the point of what I need to do. But just a few words in case you aren't Mexican or haven't been to Mexico. This is a very common dish that is eaten at breakfast or brunch (and the "spicier/hotter the sauce for the tortilla chips, the better to cure your hangover" - or so they say! hehe). However, most often I have had this for dinner whilst being in the UK.

Ingredients - makes 2 portions

For the chilaquiles (tortilla chips)

• Around 1/2 bag of lightly salted tortilla chips (any commercial or supermarket-own brand would do)

• 1 red or green chilli (more if you can tolerate more heat)

• 1/2 onion

• 3- 4 tomatoes - preferably ripen

• 1 clove of garlic

• 1/3 cup fresh coriander (roughly)

• Additional canned tomatoes (1/4 of can)

• 1 teaspoon of olive oil

• Salt

• Grated cheddar cheese

For the omelette

• 3 eggs (preferably free range or organic)

• 1/2 spiralised courgette

• 1/4 onion thinly sliced

• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms [you can substitute for 1/3 can of sweetcorn (the larger ones)]

• 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil

• Herbs to your liking (I recommend basil or oregano)

• Salt

Methods

For the sauce (or salsa)

Boil fresh tomatoes, garlic onion, coriander and chilli in sufficient water (they need to be covered). Wait a couple of minutes until the flesh of tomatoes start to peel or come off. Turn off the heating.

With help of a food processor, puree the mix above without any of the boiling water (otherwise the sauce will be too thin), season. If the mix is too tick, you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of the water where you boiled the tomatoes. Reserve.

For the omelette

Place the olive oil in a pan and cook the onion in a medium heat until it starts to soften and become a light brown colour. Add the courgettes and mushrooms (or sweetcorn- if you are using this instead). Cook until mushrooms are soft but not soggy or mushy (4-5 minutes), season. Meanwhile whisk the eggs with a little bit of the herbs of your choice (you can add a dash of milk if you like them a bit creamier).

Once the vegetable mix has cooked, transfer this to a plate so that you can reuse the same pan. Cook the egg mix, spreading it throughout the pan. Once starting to settle at the borders, lift the pan and move more of the runny egg mix through the borders, and repeat this step until you have less and less runny bits in the centre, when this has happened place the vegetable mix in the middle and fold it from the sides. Reserve

For the final ensemble

In a different pan, heat a teaspoon of olive oil and place the tomato sauce you have already prepared. If the colour is too pale, add some tinned tomatoes or even tomato paste. Wait a couple of minutes until the sauce starts bubbling. Check the seasoning (if too acid, you can add a tiny bit of sugar). If taste is fine, turn off the heat and add the tortilla chips to this mix, enough to cover them, grate some cheese on top of this and put the omelette on top. Do not leave too much time the tortilla chips sitting in the sauce to avoid them getting soggy. You can add a couple of coriander leaves on top of you dish.

Just some notes:

• You can replace the vegetables for any mixture that you like or have at home. Courgettes can be spiralised or just diced (but changing the texture can add something else, so if you can, do try it).

• You can use crumbled feta instead of cheddar.

• A lot of the times when I'm cooking a recipe from a book or website, I tend modify to my own taste (I don't like too much oil, cream, seasoning if not really needing). So this recipe can be adapted too.

• Whilst tortilla chips may not be what you expect to be recommended/suggested by a nutritionist, the combination of protein (from eggs) and all the richness (vitamins, fibre, antioxidants) from all vegetables in this recipe, can make it a balanced meal and a really tasty one.

• I'm used to having salsas/sauces from fresh tomatoes as to me the taste is something else. Yet you can always use canned tomatoes and season accordingly.