When we first started cooking to accommodate our family life, I constantly felt like a fraud. For me, cooking meant cooking in the moment, shopping on my whims, messing up the kitchen right before eating. Suddenly, we were preparing everything ahead of time and just heating it up, after work.
Instead of congratulating us – We’re eating! Real food! Home cooked food! Every night! – I felt inadequate and could not shake the feeling that I might as well have stopped at the Prepared Foods department in a grocery store on the way home.
Thank goodness I somehow moved past that ridiculousness. Cooking is cooking. Who cares if it’s happening on Sunday instead of Wednesday? Why do I need to stare at a kitchen filled with messy dishes while I eat, to feel like I really cooked?
What matters is that we’re eating together and that I know all the ingredients that went into our food. What matters is that I am only saying things like, “Please just let me get this on the table,” and “Please stop eating all the sesame seeds,” for 15 minutes, instead of an hour, after a long day. I have embraced it.
But, sometimes there is a recipe that gives you the best of both worlds: planning ahead for the longer part and still cooking dinner in the moment. Yes, in the 15 minutes it took to make dinner, the conversation was still nonstop, but that’s part of the charm of cooking with a three-year-old, right? Right?
-Oh, that’s the green stuff that we already made! Yeah, tomatillo salsa, that’s what I said.
-Why are you pouring it into that pan?
-Why did you put the fire on? So I cannot touch it?
-Why are you cutting those radishes? Did you know I only like cooked radishes?
-Oh, cheese! I don’t know what that cheese is called. Why is it called queso fresco? Is that silly, Mommy?
-Avocado! Can I see the pit? Can I just try a piece please? One piece? But, I said please! Can I see the pit again?
This was five minutes in. And yet, thanks to making the salsa the day before, dinner really was on the table rather quickly. Also, I remembered why we cook during nap time, as much as possible.
The beauty of this recipe is that at the very least, you really only need two things: salsa verde and eggs. I am a big fan of making my own salsa, and my love for tomatillos is decades old. The tomatillos, the lime, the scallions – I’ll always choose the green sauce over the red.
I’ve made many versions over the years, fresh and blended, chopped and raw, simmered on the stovetop. But, the one below, with roasted onions, garlic, scallions and jalapeño, is the one I always come back to. The mellowed, slightly charred vegetables, set against freshly squeezed lime juice and fresh cilantro – I cannot resist it. In fact, when I make a batch, it’s usually to use in a recipe and I have to put it away quickly to keep myself from going back for extra tastes. So, I urge you to make it once, but if yours comes out of a jar, I’ll never know.
The cheese? It lends the dish a salty bite that I wouldn’t want to miss, but again, this is your dinner. The warm tortillas for scooping? I don’t want to say they’re optional (they really shouldn’t be), but that’s your call. Topping are a nice touch, but if they would come between you making this and ordering out, skip ‘em. Seriously if you have salsa and an egg or two, you have dinner…and only a only a small mess in the sink.
Also, when we're talking about used to: I used to always buy fresh tomatillos. While they're great, I've found that I don't taste a difference between the fresh and the canned in the final product, for this version. But, if you have fresh, remove the husks, rinse them until no longer sticky and roast for 10-15 minutes, alongside everything else, until softened.
To efficiently add the eggs to the salsa, I use two methods. Either, crack an egg into a small bowl and gently add by carefully dipping the edge of bowl into the salsa; repeat quickly for each additional egg. Or, carefully crack all eggs into a liquid measuring cup. Carefully, pour in each egg individually, being careful to not let them all fall out at once.
Lastly, just know that because your salsa is hot, by the time you're eating the second egg, most likely your yolk will have firmed up. If you're OK chancing a slightly liquid white, you can pull the eggs early.
- 1½ large white onions, peeled and cut vertically into eighths (12 pieces total)
- 4 scallions, cleaned
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and trimmed
- 1 jalapeño pepper
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed or vegetable oil
- kosher salt
- 1 can (26 ounces) tomatillos, drained
- 1 handful cilantro, cleaned and chopped (stems included)
- 1-2 limes, juiced
- 6-8 large eggs
- 3 ounces queso fresco, crumbled
- Warm tortillas
- FOR FINISHING: Julienned radishes, thinly sliced avocado, sliced scallions, chopped cilantro
- Heat oven to 425°F. Place onions, scallions, garlic and jalapeño pepper on sheet pan. Drizzle with oil and gently toss to coat. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Roast 12-13 minutes, or until scallions are charred. Remove scallions from sheet pan.
- Flip onion, garlic cloves and pepper; roast 15 minutes more, or until onion is golden around the edges, checking in midway through, to make sure the garlic and pepper are not cooking too quickly. Carefully, stem pepper. If desired, remove seeds.
- Meanwhile, place tomatillos in blender. Add cilantro and the juice of 1 lime. Trim roots from scallions; roughly chop and add to blender. Add stemmed pepper, garlic and onions. Puree until blended. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt or lime juice, if desired.
- Heat oven to 350°F. Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil. Warm in oven 10 minutes.
- Transfer salsa to a deep skillet or wide saucepan with a lid. Over medium-high heat, warm salsa until simmering.
- Add eggs to salsa (see note above). Reduce heat to medium; cover with lid. Cook 4-6 minutes, or until whites are just set and the yolks are still runny. (If cooking for children, cook an additional minute or two to ensure that the yolk is set.) Uncover; sprinkle with queso fresco. Immediately divide among bowls. Top with desired garnishes.
• Prep your toppings by chopping the cilantro, slicing the radishes and scallions and crumbling the cheese while your salsa ingredients are roasting. Save the avocado until just before serving.
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