One Mexican Breakfast Sandwich, Three Excellent Ways

In the Mexican breakfast canon, molletes are one of the most easygoing dishes: cheap, comforting, and designed to use things you’d already have in your fridge. You cut open a roll, spread it with refried beans, top with a layer of grated cheese, then broil until bubbly. It’s almost like an open-face grilled cheese, if grilled cheeses came with salsa on the side. (They should.)Typically, molletes arrive topped with beans and melted cheese, sometimes sprinkled with crumbled chorizo or some other cooked meat. Really, though, they could be a vehicle for anything: avocado, pulled pork, goat cheese, herbs, whatever. At home I like to add vegetables, or the odds and ends I feed my toddler when he agrees to eat and not throw food on the floor. Everything comes together quickly and the combo staves off hunger for hours.Mexican molletes most likely originated from Spanish mollete bread, an oval-shaped, spongy bread native to Andalusia. (Some say it was an Arab bread before that.) Not all Mexican molletes are the same. The state of Puebla is known for a dome-shaped mollete filled with pastry cream and topped with a pumpkin-seed icing.Like stir-fry or curry or toast, there aren’t many rules for molletes. But here are a few tips.  Salsa is a must Pico de gallo, a chopped fresh tomato salsa, is the typical accompaniment, either homemade or straight from the jar if you don’t have time to make it. I like using salsa macha, an oily, sedimenty, super-hot salsa made from blitzed dried chiles. Xilli makes an excellent one using from moritas, a type of chipotle. It will last for months in your fridge.Use good bread, if you have itTradition calls for bolillo, a squat, plump Mexican roll, or telera, a larger, flatter roll with lines indented in the top. If you can’t find them, any soft roll that’s hamburger-bun-sized or larger will work. I tried some from a Chinese bakery near my house and they worked excellently. Portuguese rolls or Filipino pandesal could work well, too. The bread should be sturdy enough to hold the condiments. And toast the bread lightly first: this adds necessary crunch among all that topping. Traditional Molletes Typically an order of molletes includes two bread halves. I’m happy with one—the bread tends to be thick and all the toppings are pretty satisfying. Double the bread and add more cheese if you want each person to receive two pieces.  Sweet Potato Molletes These were inspired by my son, who has a tiny stomach but somehow manages to eat ungodly quantities of sweet potato every day. Poblano and Bacon Molletes Charred poblano peppers, known as rajas in Mexico, go with pretty much anything: eggs, pizza, salads, rolled into a tortilla. You can freeze them, too, but mine always disappear quickly. Lesley Téllez is a food writer, culinary tour guide, and author of Eat Mexico. 4 servings

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can black or pinto beans, drained
1 tablespoon canola oil or lard
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 small wedge white onion (about 1/4 of a small one)
2 medium rolls, such as telera
1 cup grated Monterey jack cheese
Salsa
Ingredients
1 medium sweet potato
1 (15-ounce) can black or pinto beans, drained
1 tablespoon canola oil or lard
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 small wedge white onion (about 1/4 of a small one)
2 medium rolls, such as bolillo or telera
1 cup grated Monterey jack cheese
Smoky salsa for serving (I like Xilli’s salsa macha)
Honey (optional)
Salt to taste
Ingredients
1 poblano pepper
2 pieces cooked bacon, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can black or pinto beans, drained
1 tablespoon canola oil or lard
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 small wedge white onion (about 1/4 of a small one)
2 bolillo or telera rolls
1 cup grated Monterey jack cheese
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Butter (optional)
Salsa


Extra Crispy