Migas with Feta is my newest breakfast obsession. (And by newest I mean I’ve been eating ’em for weeks now). When I was little, my mom would make us “miguitas” (little migas) – gently scrambled eggs with fried corn tortillas and cheese. My grown up, adult, migas version includes cilantro, onion, pepper and big fat avocado slices for serving. But most important, it includes feta cheese.
I haven’t found a lot of good queso fresco in the U.S. and though I can find good cotija occasionally, I’ve grown to prefer the salty, briny taste of feta on migas and reserve good cotija for CORN ON THE COBB (I get excited about mexican corn – but that’s another story).
Traditionally, in Mexico, migas was a way to eat leftover corn tortillas. Back when tortillas were made fresh daily, old tortillas leftover from lunch or dinner would be used for breakfast. You can’t use old tortillas for tacos. Those tortillas don’t fold very well. Instead, if the tortilla had gone hard like a tostada you could break chunks of them and add them to scrambled eggs (migas) or mix them up with some salsa (chilaquiles). For still soft but not fresh tortillas one could fry ’em up and use them the same.
Now, I don’t make my own tortillas (yet) but I do buy high quality nixtamalized corn tortillas which would be a shame to fry and treat as if they’re old and hard.
For migas I buy these miserable tortillas. They’re organic and not expensive and honestly if you try to use them for tacos you’ll just want to cry. They must be up there with the worst tortillas ever but when I found this use for them I was happy to finally figure out what on earth anyone could do with these things. You can find them at Wholefoods in the fridge section (next to all the better tortillas).
I stack up about 2-3 tortillas per person then slice them up in strips and then cut them sideways to make little tortilla squares. Chop up onion and your choice of bell pepper along with a bit or serrano or jalapeno chiles (optional).
Throw them all together in a non-stick pan with a little spoon of lard or your vegetable oil of choice. And fry over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes. I don’t like to speed this process since you don’t want the tortillas to burn, you just want them to crisp up a bit. Most people will deep fry a tortilla first and then break it up in pieces but I prefer to dehydrate and crisp them up slowly and have cute little squares. It’s less messy too and the best part about making migas this way is you only dirty one cutting board and one pan. That’s it. Easy cleaning. Okay, no, you also dirty the bowl for beating eggs. Unless you’re the kind the buys beaten eggs whites. Don’t be that kind.
After they’re nice and crisp (see photo above) you can add cilantro, swirl it up for a sec then add eggs and a bit of cheese. Top it off with Feta, avocado and salsa if you like.
Migas are great for people who otherwise might not like the consistency of scrambled eggs. I don’t mind soft, fluffy scrambled eggs, but I just LOVE the texture they get when they’re cooked with crispy tortillas. Migas are my heaven and I’m not ashamed to eat them for lunch and dinner too.
- 5-6 corn tortillas
- 5-6 pasture-raised eggs
- ½ onion, chopped
- ½ bell pepper, chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup fresh feta cheese
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
- 1 teaspoon lard or vegetable oil
- sea salt, to taste
- ½ serrano pepper or 1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cheese like Monterrey jack (optional)
- In a cutting board, stack the tortillas so they are on top of each other. Slice lengthwise to form long strips and then sideways to form little half inch squares (or smaller).
- In a non-stick pan, melt lard over medium heat. Add tortillas, onion, bell pepper and jalapeno or serrano (if using). Fry over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until tortillas are mostly crisp, stirring occasionally.
- In a medium bowl, beat eggs until frothy. You can add a splash of milk or melting cheese like Monterrey Jack to make them creamier. Salt to taste keeping in mind that the feta cheese garnish will be salty as well.
- Once tortillas are ready, add cilantro and mix for just a minute or less. Add beaten eggs and spread over pan. Don't scramble. Let them sit for a bit until the bottom is set then fold with a spatula a couple of times until it's cooked through. You want them a bit moist not dried up!
- Serve with half an avocado sliced and garnish with feta! You can add salsa if you like too.
Enjoy!
Let me know what you think of them!
This looks good but I really don’t like eggs.
You can make it with tofu, but not sure it will turn out as good!
This sounds amazing and filling!
Love Migas! Yours look amazing. I love the addition of feta and avocado.
Yum! I wish my breakfast was like this every morning!
Oh man, I would love these but I have never made them! I have some yucky tortillas in the fridge. Can you say dinner tonight?