INGREDIENTS
4 cups Black Beans
4 cups Red Chile Sauce Or Green Chile Sauce or 2 cups of each sauce
4 blue corn or whole wheat or white flour tortillas, plus 4 whole wheat tortillas for serving
2 tbsp vegetable oil, if using corn tortillas (*we like to use avocado oil)
2 tbsp clarified butter
8 eggs
3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup finely sliced scallions for garnish
For the Black Beans
2 1/2 cups dried black beans
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1/2 green or red bell pepper, seeded, deveined, and finely diced
2 fresh jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 bay leaf
3 quarts water
2 tsp salt, or to taste
For the Red Chile Sauce
60 dried red New Mexico chiles, about 3/4 pound or 8 cups packed, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
1 white onion, coarsely chopped
8 garlic cloves
2 tsp dried Mexican oregano leaves
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cumin
For the Green Chile Sauce
about 1 1/2 pounds fresh mild green New Mexico chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, deveined snd chopped to measure 2 cups
about 3/4 pound fresh hot green New Mexico chiles, roasted, peeled, deveined, and chopped to measure 1 cup
4 cups water
1/2 white onion, cut into medium dice
2 tsp dried Mexican oregano or marjoram leaves
6 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil (*we like to use avocado oil)
DIRECTIONS
Make the beans. Sort the beans by hand to remove small rocks and bits of organic debris, and clean thoroughly, rinsing under running water. Combine all the ingredients, except the salt, in a stockpot. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until the beans are soft, about one and a half hours. Add water as needed to keep the beans immersed during cooking. When the beans are properly cooked, they are tender but their skins remain unbroken. Season with the slat. Cool the beans and store in their liquid to cover in the refrigerator. The beans will keep in the refrigerator for up to five days in a container with an airtight lid. Make the red chile sauce. To rehydrate the chiles, place them in a nonreactive eight-quart stockpot and add hot tap water to cover. The chiles will float, so cover them with a plate slightly smaller than the circumference of the pot to keep them submerged. Let soak until soft and pliable, about twenty minutes. The fumes released during this process are fairly intense and you may experience some difficult in breathing. Fling ope the windows and the kitchen door. When the chiles are fully rehydrated, remove the plate and add all the remaining ingredients to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for twenty minutes. Drain the chiles, reserving their liquid. Working in batches, place the chiles in the blender, filling it about three-fourths full. Add about a half a cup of the reserved liquid and blend the contents to a thick ketchup-like consistency. (You may need to adjust the amount of liquid you add). When the sauce is thoroughly blended, pass it through a fine-mesh strainer. The finished chile sauce should be smooth and thick. Repeat until all the chiles are used. Adjust to taste with salt. Processing the sauce is a messy job. Be careful because red chile may permanently stain clothing , countertops, and cutting boards. The sauce may be stored in a nonreactive container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Make the green chile sauce. Place all the ingredients except the vegetable oil and flour, in a large saucepan over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, until juice has thickened and is opaque, twenty to thirty minutes. Stir occasionally, taking care that the chiles do not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and flour until smooth and well blended, to form the base for a roux. Place in a saucepan over medium-high heat until hot and bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and whisk constantly until the roux is slightly brown and has a nutty flavor. Remove from the heat. Add a half a cup of the green chile mixture to the roux and whisk thoroughly until smooth. Add the roux to the remaining chile mixture and cook over low heat until the sauce thickens and the 'flour taste" disappears, about fifteen minutes. Adjust to taste with salt. Remove from the heat., let cool, cover, and store in a nonreactive container in the refrigerator until needed. The sauce may be refrigerated for up to four days. Preheat the broiler. Place the beans and chile sauce(s) in separate saucepans over medium-low heat and heat to serving temperature, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. If using blue corn tortillas brush each tortilla on both sides with vegetable oil. Place a dry skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the tortillas, one at a time, and heat, turning once, until soft, about five seconds on each side. If using flour tortillas, this step is unnecessary. Ina a sauté pan, melt the butter and cook the eggs as desired, fried, over easy, sunny side up, or scrambled. Place a corn or wheat tortilla on each of four flameproof serving plates. Spoon one cup of the beans over each tortilla and tops with the eggs, placed in the center. Ladle one cup of the chile sauce(s) over each serving. Sprinkle the cheese over all. Slip under the broiler until the cheese melts and bubbles, just a few minutes. Garnish with the scallions and serve piping hot. Accompany with a warmed whole wheat tortilla for each person.
