Huevos rancheros and avocado stories

Ever since I bought an avocado sandwich from a car park kiosk in Costa Rica about seven years ago, I have been obsessed with anything that involves this luscious fruit. There was nothing fancy about the sandwich – it was made with cheap white sliced bread, and contained nothing but ripe sliced avocado, a squirt of ketchup, some mayo and salt. Costa Rican pop blared out from a loudspeaker somewhere. I hoovered the sandwich up and then went straight back for another one. It was possibly one of the most delicious things I had eaten in my life.

These days, I get through about six avos a week, and am always on the hunt for the best source – recently my market stall man has had the nicest ones, as those bought in the supermarket never seem to ripen up properly.  As a result of my Costa Rican ‘grail moment’, my tastes at breakfast time have really changed – instead of shoving muesli into my gob such as in days of yore, I now often have avocado instead. On crackers, with chilli sauce and coriander, or a mixture of cumin, garam masala and salt. People look at me a bit strangely at work as I’m eating this at my desk while they tuck into Special K, but I promise you it’s to die for!

Here is an example of my dream breakfast - avocado on sourdough toast topped with olive oil, smoky chipotle chilli sauce and chopped coriander – frickin’ amazing!

I’m also a huge fan of Mexican-style breakfast options, such as huevos rancheros. Here’s a little recipe my husband and I conjured up…it’s not strictly authentic, but tastes out of this world.

Huevos Rancheros

Serves 2

You will need:

2 tsps ground coriander 
1 tbsp dried oregano or dried mixed herbs (eg herbes de Provence mix)
1 dried smoked chipotle chilli + half a cup of warm water it was soaking in
1 400ml tin tomatoes
1 chopped red pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
3 inch piece of spicy cooking chorizo, chopped into small dice
4 free range organic eggs
Grated mature cheddar (we like the Welsh Collier’s extra mature cheddar)
Chopped fresh coriander

First of all put your dried chipotle chilli in a mug and cover with hot water – let soak for 15 minutes. Then remove it (reserve the soaking liquid) and chop up. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a casserole dish, finely slice your onions and cook for a minute or two on a medium heat. Add the red pepper and diced chorizo, cook for another 2 minutes, then add the chipotle, garlic and dried herbs and cook through for a further minute or so – making sure that you don’t overcook the garlic as this will make everything bitter. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and the liquid that the chipotle chilli was soaking in. Stir everything a few times.

Let everything simmer away for about 20 minutes, then gently crack the four eggs into the sauce (don’t break them up or stir – you want the tomato mixture to ‘poach’ them) and let them cook through for about 3 to 4 minutes. Dish up and serve sprinkled with freshly chopped coriander and grated mature cheddar. A bit of sliced avocado on the side drizzled with lime juice and smoky chilli sauce makes this an absolute winner.  Muy rico, as they say in Mexico…or f*cking ragga, as I am oft to exclaim…