Vegetarian huevos rancheros

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elbecuardo

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jan 31, 2013
Messages
7
Location
Salford
Hi everyone. I have made huevos rancheros before and I put bacon and chorizo in it. I have some veggie friends coming for dinner in a few days and I thought I'd try and do a meat free version of this dish. How can I get some of the rich flavours without meat? Any ideas? Perhaps I could use artificial bacon slices, for example. Thanks for any help. :)
 
Hi, from a different thread, welcome to DC.

I think you need not serve meat with Huevos Rancheros. The salsa provides plenty of flavor. Eggs are a protein food. If you serve refried beans on the side, that is again is a protein food, I think.

You could also sprinkle the tops of the eggs with a grated cheese, and run the plate under the broiler to melt briefly, ( or not) if you want. Or serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Serve with some slices of avocado spritzed with lemon on lime juice as a garnish.

Fried or poached eggs are best. Corn tortillas.

Actually a very tasty meal.
 
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Actually, most recipes for Huevos Rancheros ARE vegetarian (or to be precise, lacto-ovo vegetarian). I've seen very few recipes that call for meat. Just make sure the tortillas don't contain lard.
 
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I hadn't thought about the cheese. What a great idea. Thanks for your help. This is one of my favourite dishes.
 
Wow. I always assumed it was first and foremost a meat dish. Well am happy that I will be able to give my friends a spicy treat. I'll check the tortillas for lard. Thanks.
 
Also, how do you do the salsa? I can make one but I am wondering if anyone has a special twist on this?
 
Also, how do you do the salsa? I can make one but I am wondering if anyone has a special twist on this?
For something like Huevos Rancheros, I think Pico de Gallo might be a better option. Basically, it's just fresh salsa, but with larger chunks of vegetables, so it has more texture. Simple to make, too.

4 ripe Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup cilantro (coriander leaf), chopped
Two or three good pinches of salt.

Mix it all together and allow to sit for several hours to blend the flavors.
 
I live in South Texas and huevos rancheros is everywhere and doesn't usually come with meat at all. At every restaurant I've been to it's two eggs any style, refried beans, and papas fritas--fried potato cubes, and the eggs have a ranchero sauce. Though the sauce to my knowledge usually contains chicken broth, and the refried beans contain lard, so they're not veggie friendly in that regard. As was pointed out, flour tortillas can contain lard, though that's usually the homemade ones. All the storebought ones I've seen are vegan. I prefer corn tortillas anyway--tons more flavor.

For future reference, there are several brands of soy chorizo that make a great substitute. I use it all the time for breakfast tacos. Way less grease, tons of flavor. If you have a Whole Foods, they carry Upton's tempeh chorizo that's delicious as well, if not a little pricey but then again it's at Whole Foods so there's a premium on everything.
 
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