July 17, 2010

Replicating Xoco's Breakfast Torta

If you don't already know from my constant ramblings about this, I love Rick Bayless... yes, him, but mostly his food. In my personal blog, I talked about my love affair with his newest restaurant, Xoco. (see post)

The hubby and I have been a few times now, but one of my favorite things on the menu is abreakfast item - the open-faced torta.
It's a half torta roll, slathered in a spicy tomato broth, a poached egg on top and a few toppings like green onions, etc. I thought... how hard could it be to replicate this at home? Turns out it wasn't so hard, even if the overall flavor was my version of Rick Bayless'.

Tomato broth ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, minced
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon smoked paprika*
1 teaspoon adobo spice mix
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt/pepper to taste
* spice amounts can be increased or omitted, but we liked it spicy.

Directions:
1. Melt the butter and saute the onions until translucent
2. Add the chicken broth and tomato paste, stirring to combine
3. Add the ketchup and spices; lower heat to medium and simmer
4. Season with salt/pepper to taste

Assembling the Torta:
1. Turn your oven broiler to low and toast your torta halves (or use a plain toaster)
2. Once toasted, pour some of the broth onto the roll and allow it to soak in a bit.
3. Add a poached egg on top of this and pour a little bit more sauce.
4. Garnish with whatever you have available - we used thinly sliced green onions, slices of spicy chihuahua cheese and avocado slices.

I guarantee that once you try this easy recipe, you'll add it to your brunch repertoire as well.
Buen provecho!

cPe 2008

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