The great Mexican breakfast
This is a delicious brunch that will cure any hangover, restore good moods and pep you up. From Thomasina Miers. Picture from http://www.channel5.com/ Serves 4
For the tomato sauce:
5-6 tbsp lard or dripping
1 large onion, finely chopped
1-2 red chillies, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tins plum tomatoes
sea salt and black pepper
1 tsp piloncillo or demerara sugar
a generous few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
a small handful chopped tarragon
4 corn tortillas, chapatis or other flatbreads
4 eggs
60g Lancashire cheese, grated
Heat 2 tablespoons of the lard in a wide saucepan and add the onion and chilli. Let them sweat over a low heat for 10 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic, cook for a few minutes more, and then add the tomatoes. Season the sauce well with salt, pepper, sugar and Worcestershire sauce, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to make a roughly textured sauce. Leave the tomatoes to gently cook over a low heat for half an hour, adding a little water if they get too dry.
When you are ready to eat, melt 1 to 2 tablespoons of the lard in a frying pan and gently turn the flatbreads in the fat. Put them in a low oven, wrapped in foil, to keep warm, along with four plates. Add the tarragon to the sauce and stir.
Melt the rest of the lard in the pan and turn the heat up until the fat is sizzling. Fry the eggs, two at a time, spooning the lard over them so that they turn golden at the edges and absorb the flavour. Season with salt and pepper.
Put a flatbread on each plate and top with tomato sauce. Put an egg on top and scatter with the grated cheese.