In its 2024 list of 100 best breakfasts in the worldthe Taste Atlas site placed chilaquiles, the iconic Mexican dish, in fourth place, reaffirming what a large portion of Mexicans and Mexican food lovers in the United States have known for years.
Taste Atlas – which is also called the “World Food Atlas” – is an encyclopedia of traditional, local dishes and authentic restaurants that has cataloged more than 10,000 foods and drinks. Its mission is to provide a comprehensive vision of each dish to users in addition to offering them options to enjoy them in the most genuine and traditional way around the globe.
This year, in their breakfast ranking, they named kahvalti, a dish from Turkey, as the most delicious. Kahvalti is a key and sometimes luxurious food in Turkish culture, whose name is derived from the words “kahve” (coffee) and “altí” (under/before), which means “before coffee”, as it is served before that drink. It consists of various dishes that mix various flavors, textures and types of foods, including cheeses, vegetables, local breads, eggs, börek, baklava, and sweet breads, which are accompanied with Turkish tea.
Second place goes to bougatsa, a dish from Greece, and roti canai, from Malaysia. In fifth place is Banitsa with cabbage, which originates from North Macedonia. This means that chilaquiles are the only breakfast on this list to originate from the American continent.
The site explains: “Chilaquiles are, in their most basic version, a series of fried tortilla pieces soaked in chili sauce with optional meat and vegetables.” Likewise, it stands out that the dish is both popular in Mexico and in the United States, being an effective way to use up stale tortillas left over from another meal.
Chilaquiles include, in addition to tortilla, tomato or tomatillo sauce, which can be made with guajillo, poblano, pasilla, serrano or jalapeño chiles. Currently you can find a large number of regional variations with different recipes. For example, in Sinaloa there is a version that is prepared with white sauce, in California they usually serve it with cilantro and avocado, in Texas they have Tex-Mex elements such as cheddar cheese and refried beans, while in Mexico City it is customary use of epazote.
The site lists some of the places with the “most iconic chilaquiles” in the world. Firstly, he points out those of MartAnne’s Burrito Palace, a restaurant located in Flagstaff, Arizona, one of the places with the largest immigrant population in the United States. The rest of his list includes the chilaquiles served in Mexico City: those at El Cardenal restaurant, those at Cafebrería El Péndulo, and those at El Bajío. Likewise, the list includes the dish served at La Cueva del Chango, a well-known restaurant located in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. On their official site they list other places, mostly in the United States and Mexico.
Brief history of chilaquiles
The name of chilaquiles comes from the Nahuatl chīlaquīlli, which in turn is composed of the words chīlī «chile», and aquīlli «[algo] tucked in”, referring to the tortilla submerged in the sauce.
Although it is not known if they existed in pre-Hispanic times in their current form, corn and chili were basic ingredients in the cuisine of that time. Other elements such as cheese, onion and cream were later introduced by the Spanish after the Conquest.
The first record of chilaquiles appears in 1821 in the book New art of cooking and pastry adapted to Mexican use, with a recipe that included pork, chorizos, clemole, and tortillas. In 1831, The Mexican chef It presents three variants: white, red and Tapatios chilaquiles, showing the mestizo influence and the complexity of ingredients of the time. Today, chilaquiles come in many varieties, but are always based on corn tortillas and chili sauces, and are known as an excellent hangover remedy and a popular choice for any meal of the day.
Likewise, in Mexico, chilaquiles are eaten by all people regardless of their socioeconomic level. Just as they can be found in high-end Mexican restaurants, they are also sold on street corners, in popular eateries, and are a common breakfast for office workers.
In the United States, as with other dishes, chilaquiles are linked to the migration of Mexicans, who brought their culinary traditions, particularly at the beginning of the 20th century and after the Second World War. Cities where the migrant presence is predominant, such as Los Angeles, San Antonio and Chicago, became centers of authentic Mexican food. Additionally, border cities like San Diego and El Paso enjoy a mix of Mexican and American cultures, which has resulted in their own culinary style.
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