Boulder County Farmers Markets: At the Market: Chowing down on chilaquiles

Boulder County Farmers Markets

One of the best parts of being a member of the farmers market community is being surrounded by fellow food-obsessed friends. Between our readers (yes, you!), staff, customers and vendors, we share recipes and ingredient inspiration with a fervor. There’s truly nothing better than sharing your latest breakfast go-to or hidden market gem that you discovered.

This week, we bring you a hearty, spicy and perfect-for-any-time-of-day recipe from Sam. Sam is one of our market staffers at the Boulder Saturday Farmers Market. He has been with our team since the first market of the 2022 season and we couldn’t have made it through this season without his kind and helpful demeanor.

Sam loves sustainable living and eating tasty food. He figured that working in local food was the best way to promote both at the same time. And with the schedule of only working one to two set days a week at the market, Sam is able to support local food systems without compromising his career in homeless services. Plus, being a market staffer means that Sam can get discounts from vendors (or, on a lucky day, leftovers!) that makes eating farm-fresh food more affordable.

Sam recently shared a recipe with us for chilaquiles made entirely from farmers market ingredients. Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican dish made from tortillas that are cut into pieces and lightly fried and simmered in a green or red salsa. This foundation becomes a perfect base for a wide variety of toppings: eggs, veggies, beans, shredded meat, cheese and more.

This dish is perfect for a hurried chef who appreciates high-quality ingredients and some shortcuts in the kitchen. Instead of frying your own tortillas, you can start with tortilla chips. And instead of simmering your own red or green salsa, you can pick up freshly made salsa at the market.

Visit our markets this Saturday, in Longmont or Boulder, to pick up all the ingredients you need to make chilaquiles. And add whatever personal flair your heart desires.

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Sam’s Chilaquiles

INGREDIENTS

12 ounces tortilla chips (you can’t go wrong with blue or yellow corn chips from Bolder Chips)

2 cups salsa (Sam used salsa verde, but any salsa from La Esmeralda will do)

1 tablespoon oil

4 eggs (we recommend farm fresh eggs from Croft Family Farm or Crooked Roots Farm)

Sam’s recommended toppings:

¼ cup ricotta cheese (our markets don’t have the traditional topping of queso fresco, but ricotta from Five Freedoms Dairy is a perfect substitute)

Cilantro, finely chopped

1 radish, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

Fry tortilla chips in oil at about medium heat for a few minutes. Pour salsa in and smother all of the chips equally, then cook for a few more minutes.

Separately, fry four eggs over easy.

Plate smothered chips and fried eggs, and add toppings.

Sam added thinly sliced radish, chopped cilantro and ricotta. But sliced onions, shredded meat and sautéed, finely chopped stone fruit are just a few possible toppings that could be found at the market.