Chilaquiles, or nachos for breakfast plus recipe for pink pickled onions

On my recent trip to Mexico, I discovered something called chilaquiles on a breakfast menu. Let’s not beat around the bush – these are a version of nachos, but ones that you are allowed to have in the morning. I grew addicted.

They come with either a red or green sauce. The red sauce is with ‘jitomate’ (red tomatoes) and the green is based on tomatillos. You can also have them topped with chicken or eggs. My recipe is vegetarian, so pink pickled onions and avocado slices are my topping suggestions.

This is a simplified version of the chilaquiles rojos, as tomatillos are difficult to get hold of in the UK. I’m a savoury girl in the morning. I like Marmite rather than jam, cheese on toast rather than French toast. I reckon this recipe would make a fantastic New Year’s Day brunch paired with a hangover-curing, post-NYE Bloody Mary.

I was asked to create this recipe for Tabasco, which comes in a variety of flavours nowadays: the classic red; habanero; chipotle; and (my favourite) the green version. I actually keep a bottle of this in my handbag. ‘I’ve got hot sauce in my bag, swag.’ (Although apparently Beyoncé’s hot sauce is actually a euphemism for a baseball bat. Whatevs.)

Substitutions for authentic Mexican ingredients: it’s hard to get hold of ‘queso fresco’ (although you can from Gringa Dairy), so I’ve used cheddar. You can, if you wish, skip the tortilla frying and use ready-made tortilla chips, though I think that would be a bit of a shame. There is nothing like a freshly fried tortilla chip!