Name: Huevos Rancheros for the Ultimate Camp Brunch
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: Onion: 1 chopped; Red Chilli: 1 chopped; Garlic: 1 chopped clove; Tins of Chopped Tomatoes: 2; Tin of Black Beans: 1 drained; Vegetable oil: 2 Tbsp; Paprika: 1 Tsp; Chilli Powder: 1 Tsp; Ground Cumin: 1 Tsp; Oregano: 0.5 Tsp; Salt: 1 Tsp; Black Pepper: To taste; Eggs: 6; Corn Tortilla: 6; Cheddar: Grated; Fresh Coriander: Chopped

Ingredients

1 chopped Onion

1 chopped Red Chilli

1 chopped clove Garlic

2 Tins of Chopped Tomatoes

1 drained Tin of Black Beans

2 Tbsp Vegetable oil

1 Tsp Paprika

1 Tsp Chilli Powder

1 Tsp Ground Cumin

0.5 Tsp Oregano

1 Tsp Salt

To taste Black Pepper

6 Eggs

6 Corn Tortilla

Grated Cheddar

for garnish

Chopped Fresh Coriander

for garnish

Directions

Huevos Rancheros is a great brunch style dish which works perfectly on the campfire. There are lots of ways of cooking this up and traditionally, these Ranchers’ Eggs are served with a fresh salsa but we’re serving it with a sort of enchilada sauce made with tomato and black beans. So not entirely authentic but tasty, easy and recognisable for the kids. Also, this Huevos Rancheros recipe requires only one pan and in theory, you could serve in the tortilla.

If your pans don’t have lids, you can make a makeshift one with foil.

We served this breakfast on the second day of a weekend camp and let me put it context; on Friday night, we had soup and rolls for dinner and for lunch on Saturday we were making sandwiches. So with this breakfast, if we chose flour tortillas, we’d be eating bread three meals in a row. That’s not a massive issue but it is possible to balance your camp food out at a bit more. Serve the eggs and beans in corn tortillas, not only are they more authentic anyway, it’s always nice to expose the Scouts to new flavours. I should mention that this is also a vegetarian recipe. I know some troops are starting to introduce a vegetarian day into their meal planning to reduce their environmental impact which is an idea I can get behind. With the eggs though, Huevos Rancheros is obviously not vegan.

Our Scouts are becoming more and more confident with using spices and are getting used to the idea of frying them for more flavour but being careful not to burn them. If your Scouts aren’t so sure, get them to add the spices with the tomatoes. You won’t be able to burn them then.

Fry the spices gently for a minute and add the tomatoes to stop them burning and becoming bitter.

Our Scouts were certainly surprised with the ingredients we gave them on Saturday morning for these Huevos Rancheros. They are more used to traditional style breakfasts such as this Bacon and French Toast Recipe. It was different so I had the leaders’ breakfast going so that I was able to show them how to cook their eggs. “Learn by Doing” and all but sometimes a good old, “This is what it should look like” is very useful.

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Steps

1 Done	Get a decent fire going, ready for direct cooking. You'll want to be able to have a cooler area though for when you add the eggs. Cover the bottom of your pan with washing up liquid to make it easier to clean later.
2 Done	Fry the onion, chilli and garlic gently in the vegetable oil for a few minutes until the onion is cooked. Then add the spices and fry for a further 1 minute.
3 Done	Before the spices begin to burn which will ruin your meal, add the tins of chopped tomatoes. You can do this the other way round if you like if you're less confident or your fire is really hot. Next, add the drained black beans and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for around 8-10 minutes to let everything come together.
4 Done	With a spoon, make a little well in the tomato sauce and crack an egg into it. Repeat this for the amount of eggs you have. Cover your eggs with a lid or a square of foil so that the tops of the eggs are cooked with steam. Leave covered for around 5-7 minutes, spin the pan every now and again to counter any hotspots in the fire or pan.
5 Done	When the eggs are almost set, top with the grated cheese and coriander and cover again to let them finish for another 2 minutes or so. Your Huevos Rancheros are ready when you're happy with how the egg is cooked. Serve spooned onto warm corn tortillas heated up on the fire.