What to Eat in Mexico – Migas, Another Option for Stale Tortillas

In a place where corn tortillas are eaten day and night (literally) you would rightfully expect various dishes that make use of these tortillas even once they have gone stale. Unlike (wheat) flour tortillas, the ones made of corn flour stop being soft and pliable after the first day. So what can we do with the uneaten tortillas?

I’ve talked about the multiple benefits of chilaquiles, and as delicious and diverse they can be, after a while even the most passionate chilaquilero gets chilakilled out! So it’s good to have a back-up plan. One such option is this dish I’m presenting today, called migas. Though I should mention, that the word could mean completely different things from state to state, in fact even from neighborhood to neighborhood. The guy I learned this from happened to be in Xochimilco at the time, though he’s from another area of Mexico City.

What You Need:

Making migas has to be quick and cheap, easy and simple, since the objective is to use up last night’s tortillas in making something good for breakfast. If you have eggs in the house and some basic veggies, you’re already okay.

As for the quantity, it obviously depends on how many people you’re cooking for. In this case I made breakfast for two with:

4 eggs
10 palm size tortillas
1 tomato
2 chili peppers
a branch of cilantro
a quarter onion
butter for frying
salt and pepper

How Do You Do It:

First, break up the tortillas or rip then into pieces, depending on how hard they are. Instead of stale tortillas you can use tostadas (a.k.a. totopos, or corn chips in Gringo), which are basically the same thing. Don’t worry if they’re pre-toasted, the final result is the same. Beat the four eggs and let the broken tostadas soak in them for a short while. Not too long, just as long as it takes to chop up the vegetables. Chop up the vegetables. Fry the diced chilis and onions in a bit of butter until they are nice and soft, and the butter spicy. Then add all the rest into the pan, and fry till the eggs are done.

Enjoy While Hot!

I like to enjoy this tasty breakfast with a bit of re-fried beans on the side, and of course a nice cuppa Joe. If you want to be really Mexican about it, you’ll eat it with a few fresh tortillas on the side, steaming hot and wrapped in a kitchen towel.