This multistep recipe can feed a large family. Becky Windels tops each bowl with eggs, queso fresco, chile morita verde sauce, and sweet-hot serrano bacon. She shares the full recipe below—except for the bacon. That’s top secret. You’ll have to substitute your favorite brand of bacon here and visit FARMesilla to experience the real thing.
POLENTA
3½ cups water
½ cup New Mexico green chile, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 cup polenta (instant is fine)
3 ounces Tucumcari Mountain smoked gouda cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
FARMESILLA CHILE MORITA VERDE SAUCE
1¼ pounds tomatillos, peeled and rinsed
2 tablespoon Dry Point or other bourbon
6 whole morita* chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 cup low-salt vegetable or chicken stock
1 teaspoon sea salt
ASSEMBLY
Butter for coating the pan
Vegetable oil spray
12 large, farm-fresh eggs
Salt and pepper
1½ cups Tucumcari Mountain green chile cheddar cheese, shredded
24 slices of bacon, cooked crisp
¼ cup queso fresco
4 spring onions, diced
FARMesilla Habanero Carrot Hot Sauce
Serves 12
POLENTA
1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in chile and whisk in polenta. Continue to stir with a wooden spoon until mixture has thickened and the polenta starts to pull away from the sides of the pot.
2. Stir in cheese and season with salt.
3. While polenta is still warm, pour into a buttered 9-by-13-inch pan. Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate. (You can do this a day in advance.)
FARMESILLA CHILE MORITA VERDE SAUCE
1. Heat a cast-iron frying pan or other heavy-bottomed pan until hot. Add the tomatillos and cook, turning occasionally, until blistered, 12 to 15 minutes.
2. Remove tomatillos from pan and turn off heat. Use the bourbon to carefully deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits from the bottom.
3. Soak the morita chiles in hot water until soft and pliable (about 20 minutes). In a blender, purée chiles until smooth, adding just enough of the chile water to make a paste. Set aside.
4. Add tomatillos, garlic, glaze from the pan, and stock to the blender. Purée until still somewhat chunky. Add 1 tablespoon of the morita purée, reserving the remainder for another use. (Add more purée if you prefer a hotter sauce.) Season with salt.
*Morita chiles are a type of chipotle pepper—a smoked, dried version of red jalapeños. A substitute would be chipotle, but Chef Becky Windels prefers the dark, rich flavor of this variety.
ASSEMBLY
1. Cut the cooled polenta in to 3-by-3-inch squares, each approximately ½ inch thick. You should have 12 squares. Butter a large frying pan or griddle and warm the squares; set aside and keep warm.
2. Lightly coat twelve 6-ounce ramekins with vegetable spray. Gently crack 1 egg into each container. Bake in a 350° preheated oven, on the middle rack, for exactly 3½ minutes. You should see only partially cooked whites at this stage. (You can also gently fry the eggs in a large, oiled pan.)
3. Remove ramekins from oven and lightly salt and pepper each egg. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese over each egg and return to the oven for 3½ to 4 minutes, until egg whites are slightly puffy but yolks are still golden and runny.
4. In each of 12 warmed serving bowls, ladle 2 tablespoons of morita sauce, then add 1 square of polenta and 1 slice of bacon, crumbled. Add another 2 tablespoons of sauce. Top with a baked egg.
5. Garnish each with an additional slice of bacon, a teaspoon of queso fresco, and spring onions. Serve with hot sauce on the side.