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Breakfast and Brunch in Mexico - an overview
 El desayuno means breakfast and brunch is known as almuerzo.
Breakfast in Mexico can only be described as spicy and colourful.
Fruit and vegetables feature highly in breakfast like red and green peppers, yellow and green bananas, yellow and red tomatoes, forest green cilantro, oranges and golden pineapples. Other fruits you might enjoy in Mexico include: mangos, papaya, watermelon, guava, limes and strawberries.
The Chile pepper is one of the commonest ingredients in Mexican cookery and is found in breakfast just the same as any other meal. They are used in many regional and national dishes like chorizo, the spicy sausage so commonly found in Spain and the ubiquitous huevos rancheros and breakfast burritos. If this isn’t enough you will always be offered additional hot, spicy sauces in restaurants.
Refried beans are a breakfast staple and can be cooked in a sort of spicy soup or with copious amounts of onions and garlic. In the north you will more often find white beans and pinto beans whereas in the south black beans are the favourite.
The tortilla under your huevos rancheros dates back 10,000 years before Christ. The unleavened, flat bread - usually made from corn flour - was named "tortilla" by Spanish conquistadores around 1500. The word means "small and flattened". Whether it’s a tortilla, a tostada, a taco or a burrito these are what the Mexicans will have over, under or round their breakfast much like we will have ours on toast or in a toasted sandwich.
Mexican coffee is generally light and nutty, but it can also have a heavier body. It can taste a little burnt at first but the more you drink the more the hint of chocolate flavour will come through. One of the most popular ways to take coffee in Mexico is café con leche, which is with milk, normally a 50/50 blend.
Mexican hot chocolate is made from dark, bitter chocolate and is commonly mixed with cinnamon and sugar. Chocolate at breakfast time is enjoyed by Mexicans much like their ancestors – discs are melted in warm milk or water and then a variety of other ingredients are added like masa (corn dough), thick cream, egg yolks, vanilla, molasses or cinnamon. For a really special treat try dipping pan de yema (a soft sweet bread made with loads of egg yolks) into a big bowl of hot, thick cinnamon infused Mexican chocolate – scrummy!
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Breakfast Recipes from Mexico
Arroz Con Huevos
(4 servings)
1 cup water
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
4 large eggs
1 Tablespoon hot sauce
1 clove garlic – minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the rice, onion, garlic and salt. Let the water return to a boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 10 minutes more until rice is tender. Stir in the green pepper and hot sauce and continue to cook for 8 minutes until the green pepper is softened. Remove from heat, stir in tomato and set aside.
Fill a separate smaller saucepan with about 3 inches of water. Place over medium heat until water is just below boiling. Carefully and gently break eggs into the water one at a time. Cook until whites are completely set and yolks are cooked to desired consistency - 3 to 5 minutes depending on taste. Lift eggs from water with a slotted spoon and place on stacked paper towels to drain and to remove hanging strands.
Divide the rice evenly among 4 serving plates. Top each rice serving with a poached egg. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the portions and add a couple drops of hot sauce to each for the finishing touch.
| Huevos Motulenos
4 servings
8 corn tortillas
1 tablespoon canola oil (approximately)
2 teaspoons butter
1 cup diced ham
2 cups cooked black beans – pureed
1 cup peas - thawed if frozen
8 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar
For Yucatan-Style Salsa:
4 habanero chillies - charred/seeded/mashed
The juice of 4 key limes
4 cloves garlic -- charred/peeled/mashed
8 Tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of salt
First make the salsa by simply mixing all the salsa ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Add oil to a medium fry pan so that it's about 1/4 inch deep. Set heat to medium-high. When oil is hot, fry each tortilla until soft and crisp at the edges (this only requires cooking a few seconds per side).
Lay cooked tortilla next to each other on a large baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. In a separate large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
Add the diced ham and cook - stirring often - until thoroughly heated and partially browned. Transfer to a temporary bowl and cover.
In the same pan, reduce heat to medium and add the beans. Stirring often, cook until warmed through.
While the beans are cooking, drain the oil from the original pan leaving only a thin coating of oil. Return pan to medium-high heat and begin frying eggs either sunny-side-up or over-easy according to preference.
Remove baking sheet from oven. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees.
On the baking sheet, construct each serving on top of tortillas as follows: a layer of black beans, 1 fried egg (you may want to place eggs on tortillas right after they finish cooking to maintain your flow and conserve your work space), a smearing of salsa, equal amounts of ham and peas; and equal amounts of grated cheese.
Return baking sheet to oven and cook until cheese begins to melt - about 5 minutes.
Serve warm. Each serving consists of two tortillas.
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Huevos OaxacaThe Mexican State of Oaxaca is known for dishes with fresh ingredients and a spicy kick... and to breakfast lovers... for placing upright tortilla chips in their scrambled eggs.
4 servings
6 corn tortillas - ripped or cut in half
8 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup red bell pepper - diced
2 green onions – chopped
1 jalapeno - seeded and chopped
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons corn oil
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro – chopped
2 teaspoons additional cilantro for garnish
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Place corn oil in a medium-sized deep frying pan on the stove top. Set heat to medium-high.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, cumin and salt. Add 2 Tablespoons of cilantro. Mix well. Cover and set aside.
When the oil on the stove is very hot fry the tortilla halves until they are browned - about 2 minutes - flip tortilla pieces once at the one minute mark.
Carefully remove tortillas from oil and place on stacked paper towels to drain and crisp. Remove pan from heat and reduce heat of the burner to medium. Drain all oil from pan except for a small amount to coat the pan. Add pepper and onion and sauté for about one minute until tender. Add jalapenos and stir.
Give the egg mixture a couple quick stirs and pour over the vegetables in the frying pan.
Crumble 4 of the crisp tortillas (8 halves) over the setting egg mixture. Stir and continue to cook.
As eggs begin to set, add half of the cheese and stir as you would to make scrambled eggs.
When eggs are completely set, remove from heat and sprinkle on remaining cheese.
Place equal servings on four plates. Garnish with a little fresh cilantro and for the finishing touch... place one crispy tortilla half upright in the middle of each serving.
| Café de OllaThe following is a Mexican coffee recipe you can make at home that's particularly prevalent in Northern Mexico
2 servings2 cups water
1/4 cup coarsely ground coffee
1 Tablespoon brown sugar or piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar)
1 cinnamon stick (4 or 5 inches long)
Put water in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.
Add all ingredients and continue to boil for at least 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and cover. Let stand for 5 to 10 more minutes.
Strain and serve.
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Have you had breakfast here? - then tell us about it..
| We found our Mexican friends were very partial to Tamal, similar to a corn ball with chicken and peppers inside as well as tomato sauce or green tomato on bread. Sally 21/03/07 |
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