Cauliflower Soufflé

November 15, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Breakfast/Brunch, Main Dish

As I was going through my recent posts I realized that I talked about our Eastern European trip only briefly. I mentioned how awesome Budapest was and how getting back into the groove of working sucked, but never mentioned the time we spent with my parents in Romania, or the Tokaj trip we took with my friends from Hungary. So many stories come to my mind that I'm having a hard time choosing one to start with.

Although the wine tasting in Tokaj happened earlier on our vacation I’ll talk about it in a future post as I feel like the road trip with my parents is more relevant to this recipe.

As I mentioned before, Roni and I spent an entire week with my parents doing a road trip from my home town of Satu Mare to the spectacular Transfagarasan road, also known as Ceausescu's folly. We drove through Turda and Cluj and stopped for a night each in Sibiu, Bran and Timisoara. It was probably the most time I have spent with my parents since I was a teenager. It felt so good bonding again, sharing funny stories and just spending time together. It reminded me of my childhood when my dad used to take me on his business trips around Romania. It was fascinating to see in person the mountains, rivers, gorges and lakes that I read about in books or learned in my geography class. Because of my father’s fear of flying, he’d always choose to drive even though it sometimes took him days to get to places. We would drive on these crazy winding roads in the Carpathian Mountains and admire the scenery on the Danube’s Canyon Road as we passed the Iron Gates gorge. It was insane!

I wanted Roni to experience all the emotions that I experienced as a kid. I wanted her to see how breathtaking and beautiful my country is. And she did- she was amazed by its beauty, simplicity and hospitality.

It was a lot of fun, but also frustrating at times mostly because of my father, who has a really unique way of doing road trips and sightseeing. In my father’s book, a road trip is to drive from a starting point A to a final destination B with minimal stops in between. Stops are only allowed when the gas is running low or the driver (in this case, my dad) had to use the restroom. No other events are important enough to warrant a stop. Also, there are priority levels when it comes to restroom stops. Roni and I found out that we were in the lowest possible bracket when it took my dad an hour and several passed gas stations to finally stop so we could use the restroom. He’d either “forget” about the much needed bathroom break or find the gas stations to be not up to his standards. It was comical in many ways but it took a lot effort on both my father and my side not to get in an argument. Fortunately, my mom was there to bring peace and harmony when it was needed.

Overall the road trip was superb. We saw everything we planned to see and more. The most memorable sights were the colorful trees along the Transfagarasan road, the charming city of Sibiu with its many cute cafés, the Bran Castle (aka Dracula’s Castle), and the pleskavita (Serbian burger) I ate in Timisoara, my college town, that took me back to the good old days. Romania is absolutely beautiful, a fairy tale-like place where time seems to have stopped. It is a rough uncut diamond that will shine again, once the new generation of young intellectuals will bring a much-needed change in mentality.

I’ve had this recipe in the queue for quite sometime now, but until now I didn’t find the right opportunity to post it. Cauliflower has always been our family's favorite vegetable, even though my father would argue with that. My mom Rodica, makes a killer cauliflower soup as well as cauliflower soufflé, fried cauliflower and even a cauliflower spread. This recipe is very close to my mom's, although she doesn't add sautéed onions and garlic to hers. She also separates the egg whites from the yolks and beats them. I guess that would be the proper way of making a soufflé, but the minimal difference in flavor and texture doesn’t justify the effort in my opinion. Pofta buna!

CAULIFLOWER SOUFFLÉ

Serves 4
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

1.5 lbs cauliflower florets (about 1 medium sized cauliflower)
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (plus more for topping)
1/2 tsp sweet paprika (Spanish or Hungarian)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 TBS unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped (about 1-2 TBS)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (about 1/2 TBS)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 cup whole milk
4 eggs, pasture raised
1 cup gouda cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
salt, to taste
smoked paprika, optional
fresh lemon juice, optional

Instructions

Fill a large pot halfway up with water and one tablespoon salt. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Add cauliflower florets and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until they can be pierced with a knife (al dente).
In the meantime, in a bowl combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, paprika and 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Using a fork, whisk them together.
Coat the bottom and sides of a 9"x5" deep baking pan with a tablespoon butter. Pour in half the breadcrumb mixture and shake the pan to create an even layer on the bottom. Some crumbs will stick to the sides of the pan as well.
Drain the cauliflower, set aside and let it cool.
In a medium sized sauce pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When it starts to foam add the shallots, stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the garlic, nutmeg, white pepper and chili flakes and continue cooking for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour in 1/3 cup milk, raise the heat to high and bring to a boil, about 3 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside to let it cool down.
Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
In a large bowl, crack the eggs open and beat them until they become foamy. Add the rest of the milk, 3/4 cup gouda cheese, black pepper and a pinch of salt. Using a whisk mix them together.
Add the cauliflower to the egg mixture and slowly mix in the milk and shallot concoction.
Pour egg and cauliflower mix into the baking pan. Sprinkle the top with the rest of the breadcrumbs and gouda. I usually grate some parmesan as well for that nutty flavor.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Raise the temperature to 420F (215C) and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the top of the soufflé is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let it cool a bit before serving. Cut into inch thick slices. Serve as is or for an extra zing, sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and smoked paprika.

Pork Belly and Oyster Mushroom Potato Hash

August 24, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Breakfast/Brunch

The time has come for me to post a heartier and manlier dish here on gourmetcubicle. As of late, I committed to getting back in shape by losing the extra weight I gained during my business trip. I picked up running again and, for the first time since college, I started lifting weights. Getting enough exercise has never been a concern of mine though, as I've always been active, either playing soccer in Zilker Park or volleyball on various leagues around town. The biggest challenge for me when it comes to losing weight is to hold back from eating so much. I severely lack discipline in the kitchen.

I love carbs. It doesn't matter if it's pasta, fresh crispy breads or starches, I embrace them all. I like to blame my weakness for carbs on the Romanian and Hungarian food culture. Bread and potatoes are two things that are never missing from the dining table. Abundance is the word that best describes both these cuisines. You'll never walk out of the house of a Romanian or Hungarian feeling hungry or anything short of being completely full.

It all comes down to our culture of hospitality, and Romanians take hospitality extremely seriously. We greet our guests and visitors with fresh baked bread and salt. It's a tradition that dates back to before Christianity and it is seen as a symbol of acceptance and kindness. But why two simple things like bread and salt, you may ask? Well, bread was the main source of food representing the wealth of the fields for the peasants, whereas salt, for a long time in history, was one of the most expensive and valuable assets in trading.

Fun Fact: the word companion, which is defined as a person or animal one shares significant time with, comes from Latin and has at its roots the words com- meaning "with" in English, and panis, which is "bread".

Moving on to our recipe today, this is a dish so versatile that you can serve it for breakfast, brunch or even dinner. It is a savory, flavorful and filling dish, easy enough to be prepared even by a beginner cook. The pork belly can be substituted with bacon if that's something that is more accessible, and the brussels sprouts can be replaced by broccoli florets of roughly chopped cabbage. Enjoy!

PORK BELLY AND OYSTER MUSHROOM POTATO HASH

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45-50 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb pork belly, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 TBS sunflower seed oil (or peanut)
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
2-3 jalapeños, sliced (remove seeds and membrane for milder version)
1 1/2 lbs medium potatoes, unpeeled and diced into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp smoked paprika
3/4 lb brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved
4-5 green onions, roughly chopped
1 lb oyster mushrooms, rinsed
1 TBS unsalted butter
1/2 medium lemon juiced (about 1-2 TBS fresh lemon juice)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 eggs, pasture raised
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (for garnish)
1 tsp smoked paprika (for garnish)
salt, to taste

Instructions

Sprinkle the pork belly with salt and pepper.
Heat one tablespoon oil in an oven proof cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add pork belly and cook for about 10 minutes until the bits become crispy and golden brown. Stir occasionally.
Remove the pork bites from the pan and transfer them to a paper towel lined plate or a wire rack. Add the rest of the oil to the skillet.
Preheat oven to 400F (200C) degrees.
Add onion to the skillet carefully. Be careful not to toss it in because you risk getting burned by the splattering oil. Cook for 3 minutes. Add jalapeños and cook for another 2 minutes. Add potatoes and sprinkle with salt, pepper and one teaspoon smoked paprika. Continue cooking for 5 more minutes stirring every now and then. Add the brussels sprouts. Cook for 10 minutes and then add green onions, mushrooms, butter, lemon juice and quarter cup parsley (half of the total amount). Cook for 5-7 more minutes. Toss and stir occasionally.
Remove skillet from the heat. Toss in the pork belly bits and gently stir. Crack the eggs on top of the hash and place the skillet in the oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the eggs are cooked to your favored consistency. 10 minutes baking will yield a runny egg (my favorite) whereas 15 minutes will get the egg cooked all the way through.
Sprinkle with the rest of the parsley and smoked paprika. Taste and adjust saltiness. Serve hot.

Potato and Leek Rösti with Poached Eggs

July 20, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Breakfast/Brunch

This week I'm going to show you how to make one of my favorite brunches. It's a vegetarian dish that can be served either as a side dish or on its own with a dollop of sour cream. It also can easily be turned into something more filling, by adding smoked salmon and poached or fried eggs to it.

I love weekends so much especially when I don't have to travel. Not only because I get to relax, but mostly because I get to spend a lot of time around the kitchen cooking. Another important aspect of the weekends is that I can cook and eat my breakfast in my pajamas without having to fully wake up. I don't enjoy talking early in the morning, at least not until I get to eat. Roni also gets grumpy without having food or coffee first thing in the morning. For the sake of everyone in Austin, we try not to leave our house without eating or drinking coffee, and take out the grumpiness on each other.

Although I named this dish rösti, which is a Swiss dish, I found inspiration for it during my time in Hungary. Over there it's called either tócsni or lepcsánka depending on which region you visit and who you ask. It is very similar to the traditional rösti, but Hungarians sometimes add flour and eggs to the concoction. I prefer it without flour as it makes me feel better about eating healthier.

I made a few modifications of course, namely I added leeks and parsley to the potatoes. I like bold flavors and find potatoes alone to be a bit bland. If you don't like leeks, you can substitute them for onions or carrots. Same goes the parsley- use spinach or kale instead if that's what you prefer. Dare to improvise and try different combos until you find your favorite. As for me, this is my favorite. Jó étvágyat!

POTATO AND LEEK RÖSTI WITH POACHED EGGS

Serves 2-4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 large leek, cleaned and finely chopped
8-10 cremini mushrooms
2 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled and grated
1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, deseeded and finely chopped
1/2 TBS kosher salt
1/2 TBS, black pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp kosher salt
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS butter, unsalted
1 TBS olive oil
8-10 tomatoes on the vine
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 TBS butter, unsalted
1/2 TBS butter, unsalted
2-4 eggs, pasture raised
kosher salt, to taste
1 TBS white vinegar
2 oz. smoked salmon (optional)
1 TBS crème fraîche (or sour cream)(optional)

Instructions

Clean the leek by cutting and discarding the dark green woody leaves and the root end. Clean, chop it finely.
Clean the mushrooms by trimming the dry tip of the stem.
In a medium bowl combine the grated potatoes, leeks, parsley and jalapeño. Sprinkle half tablespoon salt and mix well until the mixture is evenly coated with salt. Set aside and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes.
Handful by handful, squeeze the potato and leek mixture to get rid of the starchy and salty water. Sprinkle half tablespoon of freshly cracked black pepper, one teaspoon salt, and one tablespoon of olive oil and stir until everything is well mixed together and evenly coated.
Heat one tablespoon butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. When the butter melts and starts foaming, scatter the potato mixture over the skillet. Using a spatula, gently press molding it into a 1/2-3/4 inch pancake. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, shaking skillet occasionally, until edges are golden brown.
Meanwhile, heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Drizzle with one tablespoon olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the mushrooms and tomatoes to the pan. Sprinkle with a pinch salt and pepper. Let them cook while you flip and cook the other side of the rösti, shaking the pan every now and then.
Cover the skillet with an inverted large plate. Flip rösti onto the plate. Add another tablespoon of butter to the skillet and let it melt. Once the butter starts foaming, slide the rösti back into the skillet, cooked side up. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the bottom becomes golden brown. While it is cooking, using a silicone brush, spread half tablespoon butter on the top of the rösti.
Remove the tomatoes and mushrooms from the heat and set aside until you're ready to serve it.
In the meantime, poach or fry the eggs, whichever you prefer.
Poaching may be more challenging if you’ve never done it before. If poaching, fill a medium non-stick pan with about 2 inches water. Heat the water over medium heat. Add one tablespoon white vinegar and a pinch of salt and bring water to a simmer. Crack eggs one by one into a espresso cup and slide them into the simmering water. The vinegar in the water will prevent the egg whites from spreading. Turn heat to minimum, cover the pan and let the eggs poach for about 4 minutes. When done, remove with a sieve.
Once the rösti is ready, slide it on a cutting board or a large plate. Cut in four and serve with smoked salmon and poached eggs on top and a side of roasted tomatoes and mushrooms. You can add a dollop of creme fresh or sour cream to the top, too. Enjoy!

Notes

To clean leek, use a pairing knife to slice it lengthwise starting from about 1/4 of inch from the root up to the leaves. Rotate the leek, and slice it again starting from the root. Fan the leeks open and place them under cold running water. Rinse out any dirt or sand until the leeks are clean.
To clean mushroom, fill a quarter of a bowl with cold tap water. Drop mushrooms into the bowl. Submerge each one and then lift them out of the water with your hands. Place them on a paper towel and let them dry. Never clean mushrooms by rinsing them under running tap water, as the flavors will be washed away as well.
I love fresh black pepper, so I usually add more than half tablespoon to the potato and leek mixture.

Ricotta Bacon Stuffed Pain Perdu with Blueberry Flambé

July 02, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Breakfast/Brunch

After ten awesome days in Singapore I had to say goodbye to this amazing country. I knew Singapore was not going to disappoint me and this trip just confirmed what I already knew- I love this country. I also love its people: the food hawkers, the vibrant and lively city, the mix of races and cultures that live together in harmony. It’s a country that seems to have everything figured out. People are happy- from the taxi drivers to the operators on the manufacturing floor where I worked— everyone told me the same thing: that they are proud and happy to be living in Singapore.

Although I worked long hours, I made sure that food wasn’t neglected. During lunch breaks, I asked the engineers that I worked with to take me to the closest food hawkers. Hawker centers are great and filled with food stalls that serve delicious and fresh dishes. If you go to Singapore you don’t want to miss out. They are cheap and have a great variety of cuisines: Chinese, Malay, Indian, Japanese, Indonesian and even Thai. During my stay in Singapore, I haven’t had a single mediocre meal. All of them were great. I re-visited a few of the places that Roni and I checked out while we were here in January. Even though my focus was to explore other places and discover hidden gems, I couldn’t skip the good old Original Peanut Pancake stall in Tanglin Halt, Bismillah Biryani in Little India or Tian Tian at the Maxwell Food Hawker Center.

I mentioned in a few of my previous posts that in Romania and Hungary, breakfast is a very important meal of the day. There is a saying in Romanian that tells you to eat like a king for breakfast, like a servant for lunch and like a beggar for dinner. Today’s recipe follows that logic. One of these toasts will fill you up for a long time. You’ll get a taste of sweet, savory and tart at the same time.

I came up with this recipe on a rough Sunday morning. I was hungover after playing Cards Against Humanity and drinking until 4am (I think) with our couchsurfers from New Zealand, Naomi and Neil. On days like that (when I feel like crap after having that one extra drink that I shouldn’t have had), only a filling breakfast can fix me. I need protein, carbs, fat, sugar and some fruit to feel less guilty and more healthy. This recipe has them all: cheese, bacon, bread, maple syrup and blueberries.

As I was browsing through the kitchen trying to puzzle together the Holy Five (protein, carbs, fat, sugar and fruit) that would cure the hungover beast inside of me, I stumbled upon bacon, eggs, blueberries, some leftover ricotta cheese from the previous night’s lasagna cooking with Neil and a loaf of challah bread. Home-baked challah. Home-baked bread isn’t something that you’ll find in our household, but our amazing couch surfers baked it for us. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was a little bit scared of baking until Neil showed me how easy it was and taught me how to make ciabatta and challah.

Making this awesome breakfast/brunch shouldn’t take longer than 45 minutes regardless of cooking skills and experience in the kitchen. It’s easy to prepare, yet delicious and filling. So what are you waiting for? Go to the store, buy what you don't have on hand, and start cooking. You have a long weekend and plenty of time to kill ahead. Maybe even a hangover to kill, too. Happy 4th of July and bon appetite!

Ricotta Bacon Stuffed Pain Perdu with Blueberry Flambé

Serves 4-6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Blueberry flambé

1 large orange, juiced
3/4 cup maple syrup (or brown sugar)
1/2 lemon, zested
1 1/2 pints fresh blueberries
1 stick cinnamon
1 1/4oz rum
1 tsp potato starch (optional)

Pain Perdu

6 slices bacon
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup parmesan, freshly grated
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 TBS chives, finely chopped
1 TBS thyme, finely chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
kosher salt, to taste
3 eggs, pasture raised
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 cup parmesan, freshly grated
1/2 cup roasted walnuts, optional
4-6 slices of challah bread (about 3/4 inch thick)
2 TBS butter
1 TBS powdered sugar
1/2 cup roasted walnuts

Instructions

Start with the blueberry flambé. In a medium sauce pan or deep skillet, combine orange juice, maple syrup and lemon zest. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add blueberries and cinnamon stick. Cook for about 5 minutes. Pour rum over the blueberries. Using a matchstick ignite it. Let the flame die out and cook for another 5 minutes. Congratulations, you just made a blueberry flambé.
If the sauce is too thin, scoop out 3-4 tablespoons of blueberry sauce into a small bowl. Add the potato starch and mix well. Return the starchy sauce to the pan and give it a stir so it mixes with the rest of the sauce. When the flambé thickened, remove from the heat and set aside.
The next step is the crispy bacon. Lay bacon slices in a cold skillet. Make sure they don’t overlap. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook bacon on each side until it becomes golden brown and crispy. Transfer bacon from the skillet to a paper towel lined plate or wire rack. Save the bacon fat. When it cooled down, crumble bacon into bite size pieces.
Now the filling. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine ricotta, bacon crumbles, parmesan, parsley, chives and thyme. Mix well and add 2 TBS bacon fat. Sprinkle black pepper and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set cheese mixture aside.
In another bowl beat eggs. Add milk, parmesan and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Spread about 1/4 inch cheese mixture over one side of the bread. Top it with another slice. Dip bread in egg mixture. Let it soak for about 1 minute on each side. You don’t want your pain perdu to be dry.
Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter starts foaming place bread in the skillet. Fry for 4-5 minutes on each side, until it becomes golden brown. You can add extra butter each time you flip the bread as it helps achieving richer flavor and color.
Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and serve it with the blueberry flambé and roasted walnuts. Enjoy!

NOTES

Contains alcohol! Handle the open flames with care.

Migas Breakfast Tacos

June 01, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Breakfast/Brunch

I've been struggling with coming up with a story for this post. Initially I didn't understand why this was happening, but then I realized that it was because every time I read an article about Austin, breakfast tacos are always mentioned. It feels like there are no more stories to be told about them. With that in mind I'll spare you the usual rundown and go straight to the point: breakfast tacos are absolutely fantastic and deserve all the hype!

If you aren't from Austin and you happen to take a trip here, don't make the mistake of not having a breakfast taco even if it's not for breakfast. You see, Austin is a weird place where most of the taco places will serve you breakfast tacos all day long. It's Austin's favorite breakfast after all. It's got all the ingredients for the perfect breakfast: eggs, vegetables and cheese.

Migas breakfast tacos are perhaps the most famous of all. It's also the preferred breakfast in our household. Almost every weekend we have them by either making them at home if we have the ingredients , or by going to our favorite breakfast taco place, Veracruz. With the monsoon season hovering over Austin for the entire month of May, getting drenched in the rain in line at a taco stand didn't sound like a very good idea, so we made sure that our grocery list included eggs, tortillas, onions, tomatoes, peppers and queso fresco.

Preparing migas shouldn't take too long. You can have them ready and steaming on your table within 20 minutes. If you consider that to be a lot of time, just take a minute and think about how long it would take you to get dressed, drive to a taco shop , wait for your food and then go home. I'm all about efficiency so I prefer cooking my breakfast tacos in my pajamas. Is there really a better way to spend a rainy weekend morning?

In the recipe I recommend corn tortillas, but you can go for flour or whole wheat if that’s your preference. Corn tortillas make the tacos more authentic in my opinion and add a distinguished Latin American taste. The vegetables are also open to variation. The ones I mention in the recipe are the usual suspects in Austin migas, but spinach or mushrooms are also good options. The most important part of the migas and the ingredient that cannot be replaced is the tortilla strips. Migas translates to English as crumbs, so if you're removing those you're having a vegetable scramble and not migas.

Enjoy!

MIGAS BREAKFAST TACOS

Yields 8-10 tacos
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

5-6 eggs, pasture raised
1/4 cup milk (whole or low-fat)
3/4 cup queso fresco, crumbled (or cotija, añejo, or mix of all)
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 TBS canola oil (peanut, or sunflower seed)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, diced (red, green or mix of both)
1 jalapeño, deseeded and sliced (or serrano pepper)
1 medium tomato, diced
2 small tomatillos (optional)
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 poblano pepper, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 corn tostadas, broken into bite-size pieces (or fried tortillas or thick corn tortilla chips)
1 tsp kosher salt (add more to taste)
8-10 corn tortillas
1 avocado, sliced
1 lime, wedged
1 TBS queso fresco, crumbled (for garnish)
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

In a medium bowl beat eggs until the yolks and egg whites are well combined. Add milk, cheese and pepper. Do not add salt just yet as it will make your migas watery and the tostadas less crunchy. Set aside.
In a deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering add onions, bell peppers and jalapeños and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and tomatillos and cook for another 3 minutes. Season with black pepper (still no salt).
Pour in egg mixture. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir for about 1 minute. Put in back on the stove and continue cooking for another minute or two. Add poblano pepper and half of the cilantro you have prepared. Repeat the one minute off, two minutes on while stirring and folding the mixture. This procedure will make your migas creamy while keeping the vegetables crunchy. When you reach the desired consistency (I prefer the eggs on the runny side) remove from the heat and fold in the tostada pieces. Now it's the time to salt it. Taste and season to your liking. You're done!
Serve migas on corn tortillas with avocado slices, chopped cilantro, pepper slices, and crumbled queso fresco with lime wedges on the side. If you want to take your breakfast taco to the next level add a few spoons of my Fiery Jalapeño Salsa and/or the milder Roasted Vegetable Salsa.

NOTE: Corn tortillas tend to fall apart easily, so you may want to double up with 2 per taco.