Briana Valdez, the daughter of first-generation Mexican-American parents, moved all over Texas while growing up, but didn’t dedicate her life to making the food of her childhood until she moved to LA and noticed a migas-shaped hole in the city’s culinary landscape. “After a decade of wishing someone would open the restaurant of my dreams in the beautiful city of LA, I decided to give it a go myself,” she said. Since opening HomeState in 2013, the restaurant has grown to five locations and has become a destination in the city for breakfast tacos and the best migas.
Sometimes confused for chilaquiles, a dish of crispy tortillas, coated with salsa and often topped with a fried egg, migas is instead made of fried corn tortillas interlaced with fluffy scrambled eggs. (Though it’s true that both breakfast dishes have a similar crispy-gone-soggy texture.) You could skip the tortilla-frying part of the recipe and use store-bought corn tortilla chips instead, but you’ll lose some of the heft and flavor that fresh tortillas bring to the final dish. In either case, you’ll want a stack of flour tortillas for assembling your own tacos, along with sliced avocado, pickled jalapeño peppers, and a drizzle of the verdant, vibrant salsa. Also up for grabs: refried beans, a perfectly sliced mango, and, if you’d like, some homemade chorizo.
However you make them, they’re just as good for breakfast or brunch as they are for dinner.
What you’ll need
Vitamix Blender
$350 At Amazon
Large Nonstick Skillet
$50 At Amazon
Rimmed Baking Sheet
$33 At Amazon
Box Grater
$19 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°. Place 1 small yellow onion, very coarsely chopped, 3 garlic cloves, 1 serrano chile, halved, and 8 oz. tomatillos (about 4 medium), husks removed, rinsed, in a medium bowl. Drizzle with vegetable oil, season with kosher salt, and toss to coat. Arrange tomatillos on a rimmed baking sheet; roast 10 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and chile; roast until charred in spots, 20–25 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Step 2
Blend 1 small bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped, and ½ cup water in a blender until smooth. Add roasted vegetables, 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Blend until mostly smooth. Set salsa aside.
Step 3
Beat 8 large eggs in a medium bowl with a fork to combine; season with salt.
Step 4
Heat remaining 6 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high. Drop in a ½"-thick corn tortilla strip; if oil sizzles it is ready (heat a little longer if needed). Working in 2 batches, cook 4 corn tortillas, halved, cut into ½"-thick strips, stirring often to avoid clumps and adjusting heat as needed, until golden, 2–3 minutes per batch. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels; season with salt.
Step 5
Pour off all but 1 Tbsp. oil from pan. Add 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter and heat over medium until melted. Add 1 medium white onion, chopped; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally with a heatproof rubber spatula, until slightly softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Step 6
Pour eggs into pan and cook, stirring gently and adjusting heat to medium-low if you prefer a softer scramble, just until eggs start to come together, about 45 seconds. Add fried tortillas and quickly stir into eggs. Immediately add 3 oz. sharp cheddar, coarsely grated, and cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate and season with freshly ground pepper.
Step 7
Serve migas with flour tortillas, sliced avocado, pickled sliced jalapeños, lime wedges, and reserved salsa alongside.
