My Scrambled Eggs + Saveur’s Peanut and Arbol Chile Salsa

I like shiny new things.

Especially fresh and crisp, right-off-the-press magazines at the checkout register.

I react like a mosquito to the light. There is never any hope for me once my eyes lock onto something I really want, often much to my husband’s displeasure.

And so, naturally, as I sauntered up to pay for my tri-weekly fodder obsession one week in July, I gingerly unsheathed a gleaming new issue of Saveur magazine, of course taking the copy two places behind the first because who really wants to take home the one that everyone’s fingered through already (?), and added it to my pile of stuff.

Inside they have the most dizzying array of salsas you could ever hope to find, many of which sounded inextricably appealing, like the tomatillo and pineapple salsa or the burnt chipotle salsa for instance.

I veered for the peanut and arbol chile salsa, particularly because of the novel-to-me idea of adding peanuts to salsas and also because it looked utterly sublime. One spoonful and I was in. Super flavorful and spicy and the recipe made about a cup so I was good on my spicy sauce stash for the week perfect to douse on whatever striked my fancy. According to my spellchecker, the word “striked” is not a word. I am rebelling with a strike-through.

Since I decided to buy the package of 103 corn tortillas, I am therefore stricken with the curse of conjuring up meals for the rest of precisely 3 weeks that use the ingredient: corn tortillas.

I do not hoard things. I swear it.

So, two weeks in, I have already made skirt steak tacos, roasted butternut squash tacos, and now: scrambled egg tacos. And I thought, what a great opportunity this would be to show people how I like to eat my eggs because that’s really something. Isn’t it?

This is how I like to eat my eggs:

My Scrambled Egg Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Tacos with a Peanut and Arbol Chile Salsa

Serves 1 

2 eggs

1 teaspoon heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped chives

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 corn tortillas

1 tablespoon chopped white onion

Fresh cilantro; chopped roughly

Cholula hot sauce; a dash or two

Peanut and arbol chile salsa; a dollop per taco (recipe to follow)

In a small bowl, crack the eggs and throw in a pinch of salt and pepper as well as the chopped chives. Whisk until light and frothy, then add the heavy cream, mixing again delicately.

Set a small fry pan over medium-low heat (really important here to cook your eggs low and slow, otherwise they stiffen up and get tough) and add a dab of butter. Wait until it gets almost completely melted before tossing the egg mixture in. Let the eggs sit undisturbed for about 20-30 seconds before using a spatula and mixing it together, starting from the inside out. Keep moving the eggs around to cook gently. I enjoy my eggs runny and soft, so it only takes about a minute to cook completely. If you like yours more done, continue to cook until it’s to your preference. Set the eggs aside.

In the same pan, warm through the corn tortillas to get nice and pliable. Turn them over once and they should be good to go in about 45 seconds per tortilla.

Get your fixin’s together. I like to ladle the salsa directly over my eggs, then the onions, the cilantro, and then a splash of Cholula just so she doesn’t get jealous and for extra color. Delicioso!

Peanut and Arbol Chile Salsa (Salsa de Cacahuate y Chile de Arbol)

Recipe from Saveur magazine issue #140

I originally made this to go with some roasted butternut squash tacos I had earlier in the week — which were absolutely delicious by the way, and will post the recipe soon — but since I had some leftover I thought I’d add some to today’s lunch tacos. This unique salsa, and I say unique because I’ve never thought to add nuts into a salsa before, is really spicy and good. I would imagine this would go great with chicken, beef, or even as a dip for chips. Rock it!

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

6 dried arbol chiles; stemmed

8 black peppercorns

6 allspice berries

4 cloves garlic; minced

1 small white onion; minced

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt (I used fine sea salt)

1/4 cup water

Set the oil in a medium-sized fry pan over medium heat. Add the peanuts, thyme, chiles, peppercorns, allspice, garlic, and onion and stir to combine, cooking until the onion is soft, about 3 minutes. Transfer everything to a blender and add the vinegar, salt, and water. Blend until it’s really smooth and turns into a pinkish hue; about 2 minutes. Let cool.