This recipe for New Mexico Eggs Chasseur originated from The Great Country Inns of America Cookbook, from the Winchester Country Inn in Ashland, Oregon. I made it according to the recipe the first time, except I reduced the tarragon a good bit. The second time, I added chipotle chile in adobo sauce (see below), so it became more New Mexican. This called for poached eggs, but I don’t do poached eggs very well, and I found that scrambled eggs work well.
Citrus fruit cuts the heat of chile. For a nice side dish, peel some fresh jicama and cut into small julienne strips. Peel and section some oranges and add to the jicama. Zest a bit of the skin of a fresh lime and squeeze the lime juice into the mixture. Toss to mix; drain the excess juice.
We put New Mexico chilies in practically everything here. For another breakfast dish, try our Crustless Green Chile Quiche.
other options for New Mexico Eggs Chasseur
Scrambled eggs: If you’d rather do something besides omelets, you can do this as scrambled eggs on toasted English muffins, topped with the sauce, cheese and parsley. If you like your scrambled eggs very tidy on the muffins, use egg rings in the pan to keep them contained and round.
Poached eggs: If you like poached eggs, go for it, especially if you like them not quite as well cooked. I don’t do poached eggs very well, so I opt for omelets or scrambled.
Spaghetti or pasta sauce: The chasseur sauce makes a wonderful, spicy sauce for spaghetti or pasta. Top it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Best tip: make the chasseur sauce ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator. Just re-heat when you’re making this dish so you can concentrate on the eggs and other parts.
how to use chile in adobo sauce
Cans of chipotle chile in adobo sauce can be found in the Mexican food section of the grocery store, generally in 6-ounce cans. My favorite brand is Embasa. It’s a lot like tomato paste. You use 2 Tablespoons–then what do you do with the rest? Since I don’t use very much at one time and don’t want to waste this great chile, I put two cans of the chilies with all of the adobo sauce in a high-speed blender (Vitamix), which purees everything. Use a 1-Tablespoon measuring spoon and portion into an old ice cube tray. Freeze until solid, pop out of the tray, and store in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Note that it will stain your ice cube tray red!
make your own egg or muffin rings
if you don’t have egg rings or English muffin rings, you can make your own. Simply cut out both the top and bottom of a tuna can with a can opener. Wash well before using.
New Mexico Eggs Chasseur
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound mushrooms, diced
- 2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 1 Tablespoon chipotle chile in adobo sauce, pureed
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Saute the bacon until nearly crisp, draining and saving fat as it fries. When nearly crisp, add fat back in, add onion and garlic, and saute until translucent. Add the mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chipotle chile and tarragon and simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Using 2 eggs per person, make an omelet. A nice presentation is a rolled omelet: when the omelet is cooked, flip each side into the middle in thirds. Slide the omelet out of the pan onto a warmed plate.
- Spoon a generous amount of sauce onto the omelet. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and parsley.
