I’m a simple woman. I see chilaquiles, I have chilaquiles.
The first time I had them was at Puerto Alegre in San Francisco roughly 10 years ago. I fell in love with the dish and red mole immediately. Both of these are hard to come by here in the Netherlands so I’ve had to make due with instant sauces and Thai-Mexican mashups of my own making.
Comida Mexicana – Rosa Cienfuegos
Lucky for me, GoodCook (one of my favorite Dutch cookbook publishers) were kind enough to send me a copy of their newly released a translation of Comida Mexicana by Rosa Cienfuegos. It’s a stellar read. With amazing photography by Alicia Taylor. As well as wonderful personal story of creating a home away from home.
There’s lots of stuff I want to cook from this book, but the tortas de chilaquiles (a chilaquiles sandwich) was my number one.
Sourcing Mexican ingredients
As mentioned, it can be hard to find Mexican ingredients in the Netherlands. In the past 10 years the situation has improved greatly however. So I was able to order tomatillos and jalapenos to make fresh salsa verde, as well as fresh tortillas to fry my own totopos from Westland Pepers. The tortillas are made by Tortillería Taiyara, who supplies all the best eateries and tokos in the Netherlands. You can also order your totopos ready-made from her.
Schnitzelgate
I decided to make mine with tofu schnitzel because I am trying to cut back on meat. To make this I froze my tofu straight from the shop. Thawed it. Pressed it and then coated it in panko. You are of course free to use veal, which the original recipe calls for, or buy storebought schnitzel because why the fuck not.
All this? For a sandwich?
This recipe may seem like a lot of work for a sandwich but it’s a DAMNED good sandwich and you can skip a bunch of steps by going with store-bought totopos, schnitzels and salsa verde (if you’re lucky enough to have any nearby).
Tortas de chilaquiles - Chilaquiles sandwiches
Equipment
- Freezer, if making your own tofu schnitzels
- Heavy object, if making your own tofu schnitzels
- Griddle pan, if making your own salsa
- Blender or food processor, if making your own salsa
- Deep fat fryer or frying pan, if making your own totopos
- Deep plate x2, if making your own schnitzels
- Large frying pan x2
Ingredients
For the salsa verde, you can also use store-bought
- 21 oz - 600 g tomatillos fresh or canned
- 20 jalapeno peppers
- 1 white onion coarsely chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 T - 15 g salt
- 1 bunch coriander coarsely chopped
For the totopos, you can also use store-bought
- neutral oil for deep fat frying
- 12 fresh corn tortillas cut into 8 pieces each
- salt to taste
For the tofu schnitzels, you can also use store-bought
- 1 egg whisked
- 2/3 c - 150 ml milk the heaviest milk you can get, nutmilk is fine
- 1 T - 15 g salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pack firm or semi-firm tofu frozen in its liquid, thawed, then pressed for 30 minutes and cut into 1/2" - 1 cm slices
- 1 c - 100 g bread crumbs I used panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) because I'm fancy, but use whatever
- sunflower oil for shallow frying
For the tortas de chilaquiles
- 4 c - 1 l salsa verde recipe to follow, or store-bought
- 2 lbs - 1 kg totopos recipe to follow, or store-bought
- 6 teleras (Mexican bread rolls) I used what the Dutch call 'an Italiaanse bol', look for something slightly firmer on the outside but soft on the inside
- 2 T - 30 ml sour cream
- 2 T - 30 g cojita cheese I used crumbled feta
- 6 tofu schnitzels recipe to follow, or store-bought
Instructions
First, make the salsa verde
- If you were able to source fresh tomatillos, remove the husk and wash 21 oz - 600 g of tomatillos. If using tinned tomatillos drain and pat dry.
- Griddle them on a very hot griddle with 20 jalapenos and coarsely chopped white onion until they turn black on the outside. You can also do this directly over a hot flame if you dare.
- Move all of the blackened tomatillos, jalapenos and onion to a blender or food processor with 1 clove of garlic, 1 T - 15 g of salt and 1 bunch of coarsely chopped coriander and blend until fine. If the sauce is too coarse add water until you get your desired consistency.
Now, make the totopos
- Heat oil in a deep pan or in a deep fat fryer to 180° C - 360° F.
- Fry the tortillas cut into 8 pieces in batches until crisp and starting to brown. Usually once they start floating and stop bubbling they are done.
- Drain on some kitchen towel and season with salt.
Next, make the tofu schnitzels
- Mix the whisked egg with 2/3 c - 150 ml of milk, 1 T - 15 g of salt and freshly ground pepper in a deep plate. Place in the slices of tofu and leave to soak for 3 minutes.
- Place 1 c of bread crumbs in another deep plate and heat a decent layer of sunflower oil in a large frying pan.
- Coat the tofu slices in breadcrumbs and fry until golden and crisp. This should take 5 minutes per side or so.
Now, make the chilaquiles
- Heat almost all of the 4 c - 1 l of salsa verde in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add the totopos and a cup of water, stir and heat through for 5 minutes or so. If you like your chilaquiles a little crispier, I'd skip the water and the 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat.
Tortas de chilaquiles, ASSEMBLE
- Cut your teleras or whatever bread rolls you're using in half, top with a scoop of the cooked chilaquiles, the sour cream, cojita or feta, tofu (or other) schnitzel and a little bit of uncooked salsa verde and dig in.
Notes
- Obviously these tortas do not keep and should be eaten straight away.
- The salsa verde will keep for about a week in an airtight container in the fridge and are great for dipping chips or having on any number of tacos.
- Totopos will keep for about a week in a cookie tin.
