The Tale of the Breakfast Taco Craving

I'm dreaming ideas, day and night. The ideas spark memories and, the next thing I know, I'm scanning my computer and tucked-away boxes for old photographs to use on the Dos Gildas blog and calling my aunts and uncles to see if anyone has written down my grandmother's recipes. I'm on a treasure hunt. But this project isn't just about recipes on a page; it's about good, soulful food and what makes it that way.

Take, for example, the breakfast taco (See my recipe below!), a seemingly simple creation. Usually a warm, flour or corn tortilla wrapped around steamy scrambled eggs and diced potatoes. Easy, right? Hard to get it wrong. Anyone can scramble an egg with potatoes, no? No.


Recently, on a trip home from Los Angeles while I waited for my plane to board at LAX, I wandered into a Mexican cafe. It was 8:00 a.m. and, even though I was completely aware of the fact that I was about to dine in an airport cantina (Turns out it really is happy hour somewhere in the world; early-morning drinkers flanked around a bar turned my cafe into a cantina.), I had relatively high expectations. I was still in L.A., after all. Good Mexican food isn't that hard to find in California.


I deftly drove my hot pink, polka-dotted trolley case (Don't judge! It stands out at baggage claim!) in between tables and toes and plunked myself down at a two-top overlooking Gate 73. I didn't really need much time to decide what to eat. I wanted an egg and potato breakfast taco. So, what I ordered was an egg and potato breakfast burrito.


It's worth digressing for moment here to discuss the taco versus the burrito. First, a burrito is by definition bigger and more filling than a taco. A taco is compact and you never, ever need two hands to eat it. A taco is diverse; it can be made with either corn or flour tortillas. Finally, a taco is capable of holding only a few ingredients at a time, ensuring that its filling can be savored against the texture of a preferably moist maize or crispy-soft flour tortilla.

According to my sources, the burrito is TOTALLY a California thing. There are some allusions to a Mexican counterpart, but even the Mexican version is smaller and less complicated than the Americanized burrito. I have zero childhood memories of eating burritos in Texas. I'm not saying that the burrito doesn't have a role to play in Mexican-American cuisine, but I advocate for a new and improved burrito. Maybe one that doesn't stick to my guts and make me regret an airport meal. Back to the airport meal...


The cantina offered only breakfast burritos, so I ordered one figuring that it would satisfy my craving for a breakfast taco. My breakfast arrived fifteen minutes later when I discovered that, in addition to the burrito, my meal came with a large portion of unseasoned, wedge-cut potatoes. I ignored the redundancy and peeled away the foil on one end of my burrito. The steam escaped from the bundle and I leaned in for the first bite.


Inside the flour tortilla roll, I tasted slightly more than a hint of scrambled eggs and an abundance of flavorless chunks of potato. The burrito's potato-to-egg ratio was overwhelming. The surplus potatoes and potato-egg mixture didn't taste bad, just one-dimensional.


Is it wrong to expect a decent breakfast burrito in an airport eatery? In my view, it should be harder to make a bad burrito than it is to make a good paella. Clearly, the cook hadn't put any thought into the dish. It's possible that he or she was rushed or sleepy or hating the job, but I think it's more likely he or she was lacking the "quien sabe que" that some chefs—even amateurs—instinctively possess.


What is the secret ingredient that makes food more than mere sustenance?


Here's my recipe for simple egg and potato breakfast tacos:
Ingredients
2 medium waxy potatoes, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
3 corn tortillas
3 eggs
1/8 cup of milk

Salt and pepper
1 diced jalapeño
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced tomato


Step One: Cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch chunks.  Parboil and drain. 

Step Two: Place half of the canola oil in a large skillet. Over medium heat, sauté the potatoes and cook to desired doneness; ideally they will be soft but not browned.

Use the remaining oil as needed (or for sautéing additional ingredients as indicated below). In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk and add freshly ground pepper. Add the eggs to the skillet and scramble. Add a pinch of salt.

Step Three:  Warm both sides of the corn tortillas on a hot iron skillet (preheated on a medium flame) or use an electric pancake griddle preheated on high.

Step Four: With a large serving spoon, place a heaping spoonful of the egg and potato mixture in the middle of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla to one side and serve while warm.

Note: For variety, sauté any combination of 1 finely chopped jalapeño/1/4 cup chopped onion/1/2 diced fresh tomato and add to potatoes during step 2.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!