Verde Cocina Chilaquiles

Many of the dishes at Verde Cocina have a special story behind them. This month, we spoke with Anna Garnica, owner of Verde Cocina, about what her favorite brunch dish is.

When Noé and I were first married 23 years ago, he wasn’t entirely familiar with what Americans ate. One day, he made me an omelette, using up ingredients we had in the fridge. There must not have been much in there that day because the omelette he gave me was full of two things: cheese and… pickles!

Well, that unfortunately was my limit, and I had to gently explain that pickles probably weren’t a great addition to omelettes.

“Oh Esposo, it’s going to be a long time ‘til you live this one down!”

It wasn’t too long after this that he came up with another recipe I had never seen before. He took some corn tortillas, tore them up into pieces, threw them in a pan with a little oil, and toasted them a bit, until they just started to crisp up. Then, he took some eggs, cracked them right over the tortillas, scrambled them as the eggs covered and cooked into the tortillas. Next, he took some green salsa, poured it over everything, and let that cook into the strange mixture.

Now, I have to say, after the pickle omelette, I was dubious. Distrustful. Especially when he told me this weird thing was called ‘chilaquiles.’

Chee-la-what?… Ok, sure! Whatever you say, Esposo!

But then I tasted it. And OMG… It was a tasty miracle of Mexican goodness, a composition of simple ingredients that, when cooked together this way, became a new comfort, a delicious gift, from my husband — proof that he loved me, and evidence that maybe he had a future in this business (in spite of the pickle omelette)!

The chilaquiles Noé makes today in our restaurants and at the farmers markets are the same chilaquiles he made for me back then, elevated a bit with our fresh house-made tomatillo salsa, a hearty serving of grilled veggies, and a generous sprinkling of fresh cotija cheese.  If you’ve had it, you know! If you haven’t, you’re missing out! Try it today!