Huevos Rancheros with poached eggs

Time for a savoury dish again. It suddenly got very cold here over the weekend so out come the chilies to warm us up. First time I heard about Huevos Rancheros was on Jamie Oliver's TV show 'JAMIE'S AMERICA'. His version of this classic Mexican dish called for the eggs to be poached in the tomato chili sauce rather than top the sauce with a fried egg and this is what we incorporated in to our version as well. This recipe is great for breakfast or when you have brunch with friends as you can prepare the sauce in advance (or even make a lot and freeze some) and then just heat it up and poach your eggs. I am not a big fan of runny egg yolk so mine are usually well done but just cook them for a shorter time if you like them wobbly and runny.

HUEVOS RANCHEROS

2 shallots
1 red onion
1 red pepper
2-3 garlic cloves
1 red chili (hot)
1 bunch of coriander
2 cans of tinned tomatoes
good dash of balsamic vinegar
pinch of sugar
1 tbsp smoked paprika powder
salt and pepper
4 free range eggs
lime

Chop the shallots, onion, red pepper, garlic, chili and coriander stalks. Heat oil in a pan and sweat the onions and pepper. Add the garlic, chili and coriander stalks. Sweat some more, then add the content of the tomato tins, vinegar, sugar, salt and other spices. Simmer for about 15 minutes so the excess moisture can evaporate and the sauce thickens. Now make a little space for the eggs in the sauce so they can be enclosed, drop the eggs in and simmer some more to poach the eggs. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and squeeze some fresh lime on top. Serve with warm tortilla bread and sour cream.
¡Buen apetito!