While on a recent trip to visit family in Austin, Texas, with my sous chef Kathryn and I were introduced to "Migas." This Tex-Mex dish is definitely not in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" but it was soooooooo delicious I just had to tell you about it, especially after making it without looking at a recipe when we returned home.
Apparently this dish originated as a way to put to good use left over corn tortillas and has many ways of being prepared. I'll tell you about "my" simple method that is pretty fast and tasty enough that it is turning into our Saturday morning breakfast tradition.
I start off with a pound of chorizo that is browned in a skillet. After it is almost done cooking I add a diced onion and season with about a tablespoon of cumin, a half teaspoon of chili powder, and a dash of cayenne pepper. This is all stirred together and cooked until the onions become translucent. I'll admit that those are real guesses regarding the amounts -- I never measure and just add according to taste. Next is where most "normal" people would add scrambled eggs -- scramble the eggs separately and then stir into with the chorizo and onion mixture.
Did you notice the part where I said "normal people?" Well, we're not quite normal. You may recall that I've mentioned in the past that my wife, Elizabeth, is allergic to eggs. So, to make this breakfast meals she can also enjoy, I started making "scrambles" years ago using tofu. Did you know that you can turn extra fir tofu into a wonderful scrambled egg substitute if you drain the block of tofu, wrap it with several layers of paper towels and squeeze out most of the moisture, and then crumble it up into whatever you're cooking it with. Tumeric is the trick -- sprinkle on and mix in tumeric to give the broken up tofu the nice yellow color of scrambled eggs. It'll take at least a teaspoon or so but keep adding and stirring in small amounts of tumeric until you get to the color you want. You'll be amazed -- the first time I used this trick I didn't tell any of the family that I wasn't using eggs until after the meal. No one knew the difference. I do find that I need to add a bit more of the other seasonings though because tofu is pretty tasteless and tends to suck the life out of the normal amount of seasoning. All of the photos I've used in this blog post are showing tofu, not scrambled egg.
Back to the migas... after the tofu or eggs are mixed in, then broken up tortilla chips are mixed in. Size isn't critical, you want nothing bigger than a bite sized piece but we like to use tiny crumbs and larger pieces to give it some character. Finally, mix in some shredded cheese -- I like to use the "Mexican Blend" but go crazy and use whatever you want! That's it, your done!
In Austin it was served with refried beans and Spanish rice on the side but I keep forgetting to make those when I've prepared it. We like to add sour cream, salsa, and avocados plus a little hot sauce as finishing touches but those are definitely optional. Although, any excuse to add avocado or guacomole is a good one. There you have it, Migas for breakfast!
Bon Appetit and Mucho Gusto!
New staples that need to be kept on hand -- butter, cream, grape juice, and now: chorizo, and tortilla chips!
This is becoming almost a weekly breakfast tradition and we had it for Christmas morning to start a new tradition. Got to admit I missed the broiled grapefruit halves, but will have them another day.