Hello everyone! Today we're going to talk about those recipes that delight with their simplicity and meaning. Such is the case with huevos motuleños , a dish that was born when we got creative and created a dish. With just a few ingredients and a super-easy recipe, they're perfect for breakfast.
As always, welcome to Paulina Cocina! It was a pleasure for me to research, taste, and cook this delicious dish that is part of Mexico's history.
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About Motuleños or Yucatecan eggs
A little history: The origin
In the north of the Yucatán Peninsula lies a town called Motul . The story goes that in 1992, Governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto took a delegation to this town where he was born.
Due to the time the visit required, they had no choice but to eat there, and chef Jorge Siqueff, who cooked for the Governor and always accompanied him, had to improvise not only with the ingredients but also with the tableware.
So he arranged fried eggs, peas, refried black beans, and tomato sauce on a single plate. The diners, among whom were many political and cultural figures of the time, were fascinated by this dish.
When asked by his then Secretary of Education, José Vasconcelos, about the name of the dish, Carrillo Puerto replied that they were “authentic Motuleño eggs .
What is the current recipe for huevos motuleños?
Currently, the recipe for huevos motuleños , served in the town of Motul and other regions of Mexico, consists of a corn tortilla, beans, fried egg, peas, diced ham, and tomato sauce. It is sometimes covered with another corn tortilla.
On the same plate are plantains, cheese, and habanero-based salsa. However, each restaurant will add its own twist with ingredients like avocado, semi-hard cheese, habanero salsa on the top, etc.
The original dish, huevos motuleños or huevos yucatecos, uses xcatic chile . This is an elongated, pale yellow chile with a medium-spiced heat. However, it can be substituted with any other type of chile güero.
It's not recommended to eat it with a side dish, but rather as a main course. When making it at home, you can reduce the calories by taking some precautions, such as:
- Bake or roast the plantain instead of frying it.
- Remove the fat from the bacon before adding it to the sauce.
- Use turkey ham or some other lean meat.
- Do not add salt to the preparation.
- Cook eggs without oil or in water.
- Bake tortillas instead of frying them.
- Add green leaves like spinach to give freshness to the dish.
What are huevos motuleños like?
Similar in presentation to huevos rancheros , their distinctive feature is that they are fried eggs. These are fried eggs with a cooked white and a creamy, almost runny yolk. To make them perfect, I'll share with you the foolproof technique for making the best fried eggs .
Recipe for huevos motuleños or Yucatecan eggs
- Yield: 2 portions
- Preparation time: 30 minutes
Ingredients for the Motuleños eggs recipe
- 4 eggs
- 4 corn tortillas from the day before but in good condition
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 habanero pepper
- ½ medium red onion
- ½ cup refried black beans
- 2 medium diced tomatoes
- ½ cup cooked green peas
- ½ cup crumbled fresh cheese
- 4 slices of diced cooked ham
- 1 fried plantain sliced diagonally
- Salt to taste
How to make huevos motuleños step by step
- Heat a teaspoon of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the finely chopped onion and the whole habanero pepper. Sauté until the onion becomes translucent.
- Try not to break or damage the habanero pepper so that it imparts its flavor but not its heat. It just needs to be well-roasted.
- Add the diced tomatoes until they begin to release their juice. Cook for approximately 7 minutes over low heat.
- Once a thick sauce has formed, season with salt and set aside in a bowl.
- Heat the remaining oil in the pan and fry the tortillas one by one until crispy.
- Place each tortilla on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Place two tortillas on each plate and sprinkle the beans on top.
- In the same pan you're using, begin frying the eggs over low heat. Once each egg is cooked, place it on each tortilla.
- Once all the eggs are plated, cover them with tomato sauce. Optionally, leave the yolk exposed.
- Top with diced ham, green peas, and crumbled cheese.
- Fry the plantains and place them on the sides of each tortilla. Serve hot.
