Looking for a hearty, nutritionally dense, low-fat, low-calorie breakfast that’s also delicious? Here it is, our shakshuka rancheros. Squash blossoms are a lovely, textural, tasty element to add to a dish like this, but they can be tricky to find. If you don’t have any, day lily buds actually make a tasty replacement as well, but unless you garden your own (and many people do – they’re a wildly popular ornamental), they’re not likely to be easy to find either. If you don’t have either flower, take the recipe in a different direction and add some savoy cabbage, or even just a larger portion of summer squash.
ingredients
directions
Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Remove the stem and (if you like) shake/scrape out the excess seeds from the ancho chilli. Soak the stemmed/seeded pepper in ¾ cup of very hot water and set aside.
Boil water, add tomatoes and tomatillos, cook for 8 minutes or until tomatillos are soft and olive green.
Place the softened ancho chili and the soaking liquid in a blender or food processor along with the tomatoes, tomatillos, and onion. Puree the mixture thoroughly.
Melt the butter in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add the squash and garlic and saute for 1 minute, then add squash blossoms and cook for an additional minute. Add the tomato sauce to the pan and stir in all of the spices. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add the beans and simmer the mixture until the sauce is thickened and reduced; about 6-8 minutes.
Use a spoon to create six ‘pockets’ in the sauce. Crack an egg into each pocket and poach the eggs in the sauce until done to your liking (I recommend a slightly runny medium-poach myself).
Serve the eggs and the veggies/sauce in individual bowls and garnish with avocado, cilantro, and goat cheese. Alternately, you can garnish the entire pan and serve it in the center of the table, family style.