Tortilla Egg Wraps #recipe by Leslie Budewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: Love me a good fluffy omelet and a fresh-baked muffin on Sunday morning. But not every Sunday morning. 

Last January, Mr. Right and I decided we would brush up some of our French cooking skills and learn a few things from the Divine Mrs. Child. We also decided we’d add a few dishes to our Sunday morning ritual of a sit-down breakfast. That proved to be the harder task.

But these Tortilla Egg Wraps are a great start. They’re flexible—want a little cheese? Add some. Hate cilantro? Skip it—use parsley or oregano instead. Wanta smother the whole shebang in sour cream and salsa? Por favor!

A note about the tomato paste: We used sun-dried tomatoes, pureed in the mini-chopper. (The immersion blender didn’t work—too little “stuff.”) You could substitute regular tomato sauce, spiced up to suit your taste buds. Don’t smear it on too heavily, though, or you’ll interfere with the egg-tortilla glue. (Not a phrase you’ve used before, is it?)

When I first read this recipe, I thought it could be a recipe for disaster. What if the tortilla didn’t stick to the eggs? What if I ended up with tomato goo and eggs all over everything? No worries. It worked beautifully.

The original also said these would keep in the fridge up to a week or cook and freeze, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and foil, up to 3 months, defrosting in the fridge overnight. We haven’t tried that yet, as I cut the recipe to two tortillas for the first run. Maybe next Sunday!

Tortilla Egg Wraps

(amounts for 2 given; amounts for 6 in brackets) 

3 [8] large eggs

1 tablespoon [3 tablespoons] fresh cilantro

½ teaspoon [1-1/2 teaspoons] granulated garlic

sea salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 [6] 8-inch flour tortillas

1/3 cup sun-dried tomato paste or other tomato paste (see note)

2 teaspoons [2 tablespoons] vegetable oil 

2 tablespoons [½ cup] sliced black or kalamata olives

2 [6] small to medium button mushrooms, coarsely chopped

2 [6] tablespoons grated Monterey jack, Cheddar, or quesa (optional)

sour cream and salsa for topping (optional) 

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. 

Spread one side of each tortilla with the tomato paste. It will be spotty; do your best. 

In a 9-10 inch nonstick frying pan, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat until shimmering; use the end of a chopstick or wooden spoon to test—when the oil bubbles around the wooden tip, it’s ready. Pour about 1/4 cup of egg mixture into the pan; the eggs should sizzle. Swirl the pan a little so the eggs form a circle. When the eggs start to cook, sprinkle with olives, mushrooms, and cheese. 

Lay a tortilla on top of the eggs, tomato side down. Press with your hand or spatula so the tortilla glues itself to the eggs. Cook about 30 seconds, then use a spatula to flip the combo over. Cook just enough to crisp and lightly brown the tortilla, about 30 seconds to a minute.

Slide tortilla onto a plate, egg side up, and when it is just cool enough to handle, roll tortilla up with the egg inside.

Repeat the process, remembering that the pan will be hot and subsequent eggs and tortillas will cook a little faster. Serve warm, with optional sour cream and salsa. 

Any new breakfast faves in your house? 

From the cover of BITTERROOT LAKE, written as Alicia Beckman (April 2021 from Crooked Lane Books in hardcover, ebook, and audio): 

When four women separated by tragedy reunite at a lakeside Montana lodge, murder forces them to confront everything they thought they knew about the terrifying accident that tore them apart, in Agatha Award-winning author Alicia Beckman's suspense debut.

Twenty-five years ago, during a celebratory weekend at historic Whitetail Lodge, Sarah McCaskill had a vision. A dream. A nightmare. When a young man was killed, Sarah's guilt over having ignored the warning in her dreams devastated her. Her friendships with her closest friends, and her sister, fell apart as she worked to build a new life in a new city. But she never stopped loving Whitetail Lodge on the shores of Bitterroot Lake.

Now that she's a young widow, her mother urges her to return to the lodge for healing. But when she arrives, she's greeted by an old friend--and by news of a murder that's clearly tied to that tragic day she'll never forget.

And the dreams are back, too. What dangers are they warning of this time? As Sarah and her friends dig into the history of the lodge and the McCaskill family, they uncover a legacy of secrets and make a discovery that gives a chilling new meaning to the dreams. Now, they can no longer ignore the ominous portents from the past that point to a danger more present than any of them could know.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. Watch for her first standalone suspense novel, Bitterroot Lake (written as Alicia Beckman) in April 2021 from Crooked Lane Books.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by her website and subscribe to her seasonal newsletter, for a chat about the writing life, what she's working on, and  what she's reading -- and a free short story. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.