Migas Breakfast Tacos
I've been struggling with coming up with a story for this post. Initially I didn't understand why this was happening, but then I realized that it was because every time I read an article about Austin, breakfast tacos are always mentioned. It feels like there are no more stories to be told about them. With that in mind I'll spare you the usual rundown and go straight to the point: breakfast tacos are absolutely fantastic and deserve all the hype!
If you aren't from Austin and you happen to take a trip here, don't make the mistake of not having a breakfast taco even if it's not for breakfast. You see, Austin is a weird place where most of the taco places will serve you breakfast tacos all day long. It's Austin's favorite breakfast after all. It's got all the ingredients for the perfect breakfast: eggs, vegetables and cheese.
Migas breakfast tacos are perhaps the most famous of all. It's also the preferred breakfast in our household. Almost every weekend we have them by either making them at home if we have the ingredients , or by going to our favorite breakfast taco place, Veracruz. With the monsoon season hovering over Austin for the entire month of May, getting drenched in the rain in line at a taco stand didn't sound like a very good idea, so we made sure that our grocery list included eggs, tortillas, onions, tomatoes, peppers and queso fresco.
Preparing migas shouldn't take too long. You can have them ready and steaming on your table within 20 minutes. If you consider that to be a lot of time, just take a minute and think about how long it would take you to get dressed, drive to a taco shop , wait for your food and then go home. I'm all about efficiency so I prefer cooking my breakfast tacos in my pajamas. Is there really a better way to spend a rainy weekend morning?
In the recipe I recommend corn tortillas, but you can go for flour or whole wheat if that’s your preference. Corn tortillas make the tacos more authentic in my opinion and add a distinguished Latin American taste. The vegetables are also open to variation. The ones I mention in the recipe are the usual suspects in Austin migas, but spinach or mushrooms are also good options. The most important part of the migas and the ingredient that cannot be replaced is the tortilla strips. Migas translates to English as crumbs, so if you're removing those you're having a vegetable scramble and not migas.
Enjoy!
MIGAS BREAKFAST TACOS
Yields 8-10 tacos
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 5-6 eggs, pasture raised
- 1/4 cup milk (whole or low-fat)
- 3/4 cup queso fresco, crumbled (or cotija, añejo, or mix of all)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 TBS canola oil (peanut, or sunflower seed)
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 bell pepper, diced (red, green or mix of both)
- 1 jalapeño, deseeded and sliced (or serrano pepper)
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 2 small tomatillos (optional)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1/2 poblano pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 corn tostadas, broken into bite-size pieces (or fried tortillas or thick corn tortilla chips)
- 1 tsp kosher salt (add more to taste)
- 8-10 corn tortillas
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 lime, wedged
- 1 TBS queso fresco, crumbled (for garnish)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl beat eggs until the yolks and egg whites are well combined. Add milk, cheese and pepper. Do not add salt just yet as it will make your migas watery and the tostadas less crunchy. Set aside.
- In a deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering add onions, bell peppers and jalapeños and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and tomatillos and cook for another 3 minutes. Season with black pepper (still no salt).
- Pour in egg mixture. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir for about 1 minute. Put in back on the stove and continue cooking for another minute or two. Add poblano pepper and half of the cilantro you have prepared. Repeat the one minute off, two minutes on while stirring and folding the mixture. This procedure will make your migas creamy while keeping the vegetables crunchy. When you reach the desired consistency (I prefer the eggs on the runny side) remove from the heat and fold in the tostada pieces. Now it's the time to salt it. Taste and season to your liking. You're done!
- Serve migas on corn tortillas with avocado slices, chopped cilantro, pepper slices, and crumbled queso fresco with lime wedges on the side. If you want to take your breakfast taco to the next level add a few spoons of my Fiery Jalapeño Salsa and/or the milder Roasted Vegetable Salsa.
NOTE: Corn tortillas tend to fall apart easily, so you may want to double up with 2 per taco.