Roasted tomato salsa and huevos rancheros

Pureeing roasted tomatoes, jalapenos, onions and garlic, all seasoned with cumin, cayenne and olive oil, can make salsa taste so utterly good.


America's Test Kitchen has one of the best salsa recipes. I use it for chips and huevos rancheros.

I didn't have any tortillas in the apartment, but it didn't matter. See the layers of egg, roasted tomato salsa and black beans? Dig in.

Huevos Rancheros
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen
Serves 2 to 4
3 medium jalapeno chiles, halved, seeds and ribs removed
1 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes (about 8), cored and halved
1/2 medium yellow or red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon tomato paste
table salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
ground black pepper
1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice from 1 or 2 limes, plus additional lime cut into wedges for serving
4 corn tortillas
4 large eggs

For the salsa: Adjust oven rack to middle position. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mince one jalapeno and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, remaining jalapenos, onion, garlic, tomato paste, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons oil, cumin and cayenne. Toss to mix thoroughly. Place vegetables cut side up on rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tomatoes are tender and skins begin to shrivel and brown, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool on a baking sheet for 10 minutes.

Increase oven heat to 450 degrees for tortillas.

Using tongs, transfer roasted onions, garlic and jalapenos to a food processor. Process until almost completely broken down, about 10 seconds, pausing halfway through to scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Add tomatoes and process until salsa is slightly chunky, about 10 seconds more. Add 2 tablespoons cilantro, reserved minced jalapeno, salt, pepper and lime juice to taste. The salsa can be made a day ahead.

For the tortillas: Brush both sides of each tortilla lightly with remaining tablespoon oil, sprinkle both sides with salt and place on clean baking sheet. Bake until tops just begin to color, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip tortillas and continue to bake until golden brown, 2-3 minutes more.

For the eggs: Meanwhile, bring salsa to gentle simmer in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Remove from heat and make four shallow wells in salsa with back of large spoon. Break 1 egg into cup, then carefully pour egg into well in salsa. Repeat with remaining eggs. Season each egg with salt and pepper to taste, then cover skillet and place over medium-low heat. Cook until desired doneness: 4-5 minutes for runny yolks, 6-7 minutes for set yolks.

The America's Test Kitchen recipe does not have black beans when I've seen huevos rancheros with them. I decided to add them to the recipe.

Seasoned black beans
1 (14.5-ounce) can of black beans
salt
pepper
cumin
cayenne pepper
garlic, minced or roasted garlic

Saute black beans in a skillet. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper and garlic to taste. If you use roasted garlic, just use a spatula to spread out the garlic and mix it into the beans.

How to serve huevos rancheros: Place tortillas on plates. Layer beans on tortillas. Gently scoop one egg onto each tortilla. Spoon salsa around each egg. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

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