Recipe: Molletes con Pico de Gallo

Molletes with Pico de Gallo is a very common and delicious breakfast dish in Mexico. It’s fresh, a little bit spicy (this is optional of course) and it’s also a meat-free dish, so if you’re in the mood for a savoury vegetarian breakfast, this is definitely one of the tastiest options available. There are some variations when it comes to this dish but here we’re sharing the basic one, which is also in our opinion the best one!  (Version en español disponible.)

Ingredients (Serves 4):

For the Pico de Gallo (salsa)

• 4 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 1/2 Limes
• 1/4 of a medium sized onion
• Some freshly washed coriander (cilantro) leaves
• 2 serrano chiles or guindillas (jalapeño can be used as well)
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the beans

• 400 gr of precooked black / red / pinto beans (be sure to check that they come only in water and salt, nothing else added)
• 1/8 of a medium onion
• 1 cube of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon of corn oil or olive oil
• A pinch of oregano
• Salt and Pepper
• Water

For the molletes

• 2 medium-sized baguettes or ciabattas (originally you use “bolillo” bread, but it might be difficult to get if you don’t live in Mexico, in this case 4 bolillos are needed)
• 150 gr of manchego / gouda / cured sheep cheese

Instructions:
1. For the “pico de gallo” you need to chop the tomatoes and onion into small cubes and put them in a bowl, then proceed to add some chopped ciliantro and squeeze the limes, mix well with a spoon and add some chopped chiles (optional if you like spicy food) salt and pepper to taste.

2. Let the pico de gallo rest in a fresh area for at least 30 minutes, this way your salsa will be more flavourful.

3. While you let the pico de gallo rest, it’s time to make the beans.


4. First, chop 1/8 of an onion into very small squares, then heat up a tablespoon of oil in a pot over medium heat and add the onion. Fry the onion until it browns a little, be careful not to burn it.

5. Proceed to rinse the beans and strain them, once they’re nicely cleaned, add them to the pot.

6. Stir the beans for 1 minute and add oregano, a pinch of salt, some ground black pepper and continue stirring for another minute. Then continue to add 1 and a half cups of water and a cube of vegetable or chicken stock, bring to boil. Immediately after it boils reduce the heat and let the beans simmer until 1/6 of the liquid is left.

7. Once the beans are ready, put them on a glass container and mash them with a potato masher until forming a paste, you can also use a hand mixer at very low speed or even a fork (although that can take a long time!).

8. Now you can assemble your molletes! Cut the bread as shown in the picture below and spread some of the bean paste on the pieces of bread.

9. Cover the molletes with cheese and put them inside an electric or gas oven until the cheese has melted. Once the molletes are out of the oven, put some pico de gallo on top and serve. This recipe makes around 8 molletes.

That’s all! We hope you enjoy our Molletes recipe!

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