Over breakfast at the Hotel Doña Lala in Tlacotalpan I had a stimulating conversation about the regional food with the dignified and beautiful seventy-eight-year-old patrona, Doña Debora Iñiquez Vives, and Tlacotlalpan’s handsome young mayor, Hilario Villegas Sosa. Our meal included a deep-flavored dish of scrambled eggs and shrimp that I instantly knew I had to have the recipe for. I came back later in the day to watch Rosa María Castro Chisanto, the chef at Doña Lala, demonstrate this splendid dish. Here in the United States it would be equally good for breakfast, brunch, or lunch.
In the United States we also have to reckon with less than wonderful shrimp (nearly everything in the stores is frozen and thawed) and tomatoes. Rosa’s version had a fresh, delightful quality even though she used already-cooked shrimp. I get best results when I add the shrimp to the pan raw. I also like to add a pickled jalapeño chile, which wasn’t in the original.
Eggs with Shrimp (Huevos con camarones)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 large white onion cut into thin half-moons
- 6 ripe plum tomatoes about a pound in all, finely chopped
- 2 large fresh jalapeño chiles sliced into rounds
- 6-8 sprigs Italian parsley minced to make about ¼ cup
- 10 large pimiento-stuffed green olives cut into thick slices
- 10 large capers drained
- 1 pickled jalapeño chile seeded and chopped (optional)
- 1 pound cooked shrimp any preferred size, though I generally use small, peeled and deveined
- 10 eggs lightly beaten
- ¼-½ teaspoon salt optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the oil to rippling over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, fresh chiles, parsley, olives, capers, optional pickled chile, and shrimp. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine thoroughly. Stir in the eggs and cook, stirring and scrambling vigorously, until fairly well-cooked, 2-4 minutes. (I like them quite firm, but follow your own taste; they should still be a little moist from the tomato.) Taste for seasoning and add up to ½ teaspoon salt If desired. I usually don’t find it necessary since the olives and capers contribute quite a lot.
