Red Chile Chicken Chilaquiles

Every Friday growing up, we had red enchiladas. And if there happened to be leftover sauce, I could always count on having chilaquiles for breakfast the next day. Pronounced chee-leh-kee-les, chilaquiles is made of corn tortilla wedges that are fried, simmered in sauce and sprinkled with cheese. Often served for breakfast, popular toppings include scrambled eggs or shredded chicken or a combination of the two.

The sauce for this recipe is made with dried red chiles, and is the same sauce my grandma made in Chihuahua, Mexico and my mother made while we were growing up in El Paso, Texas. It's a treasured recipe that is very special to me. Straining the boiled red chiles takes some time, but the resulting sauce is so velvety, making it well worth the extra work.

First, make the red chile sauce using dried red chile pods, also referred to as chile colorado, New Mexico chile or California chile.

Remove stems, seeds, and veins from the chile pods. Place in a colander and rinse well with cool water.

Boil the pods with water, flour, garlic and salt; cool, blend, and strain sauce through a fine sieve.

Discard skins and seeds and add tomato sauce.

Cut corn tortillas into quarters with a pizza cutter.

In a large skillet, heat oil and fry corn tortilla pieces until crunchy.

Add the red chile sauce, chicken and top with cheese just long enough for cheese to melt.

Remove from heat and sprinkle with onions, queso fresco and garnish with cilantro. I hope you’ll enjoy this traditional Mexican dish, shared from my family recipe box to yours.