Huevos al Estilo Español – Spanish Eggs, 1908

Gebhardt Chili Powder Company. Mexican cooking : the first Mexican-American cookbook . Bedford: Applewood Books, 2002 (reproduction of the 1908 publication).

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Huevos al Estilo Español – Spanish Eggs

Heat a little olive oil in a frying-pan. Cut up the meat of one or two potatoes, some shallots, one green sweet pepper; chop very fine and add one-third of a teaspoonful of Gebhardt’s Eagle Chili Powder. Break into this two eggs, season with salt and pepper, mix well and serve quickly.

 

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I chose this week’s recipe from Mexican Cooking which was produced by the Gebhart’s Chili Powder Company in 1908 to introduce Tex-Mex cooking to a wider public and increase the popularity of its Eagle Brand Chili Powder. For more information about Gebhardt’s, see my February 18 post Gebhardt’s Chili Powder Co.. I went with this recipe because it was simple, healthy (at least it didn’t require deep-frying anything in lard like some of the other recipes), and, with a couple minor modifications, I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen.

Gebhardt’s Eagle Brand chili powder is still available in San Antonio, but despite warnings in the book that other brands of chili powder are inferior to Gebhardt’s, I used the kind I already had in my pantry. I also used a red bell pepper instead of a green one, since I had one on hand. Finally, I added some green onions that needed to be used.

Cooking the potatoes and vegetables

Besides heating the oil, this recipe neglects to tell you to actually cook any of the ingredients. Luckily, it’s simple enough that I didn’t have any trouble filling in the blanks. I boiled the potatoes until tender the night before and cut them into roughly half-inch cubes. I first added the potatoes, shallots, peppers, and chili powder to the hot oil, and mixed until the shallots were translucent and the potatoes slightly browned (about 5 minutes) before I added the eggs. 

Finished eggs just before serving.

This recipe was fast and easy to make and the end result was good. I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a hearty breakfast.