No-Nightshades Chilaquiles Recipe
Living the No-Nightshades Life
After two years of re-introducing foods eliminated on the Autoimmune Protocol Diet one at a time, I have succeeded at reintroducing many foods that are not consumed during the elimination phase of the diet. Despite this, nightshades continue to be the food group that I have not been able to successfully reintroduce.
The nightshade plants include: tomatoes, green tomatoes (tomatillos), eggplants, all chiles, potatoes, and bell peppers. The dried and powdered form of bell peppers, paprika, and chilis, like chili powder, are also excluded as well as less common nightshades like goji berries and ashwaganda.
Living in Mexico, it is particularly challenging to avoid nightshades since tomato based salsas are pretty much a staple of every meal. After experiencing acute joint pain upon consuming even small amounts of tomatoes and tomatillos, it has not bothered me much to have to continue excluding them from my diet. While I have been able to consume some chilis like habanero, and potato in very small quantities without excessive pain, I still always notice some negative affects in my body shortly after consuming them. For this reason, I prefer to keep avoiding them to help my body stay on the path of health and improvement.
While I don’t miss salsas or eating tomatoes and other nightshades too much for it to be a big issue, there was one favorite dish of mine that was really difficult to let go of once I went no-nightshade: Chilaquiles!
Chilaquiles are a classic Mexican dish, usually consumed for breakfast but that can really be eaten at any time of day. It consists of a tortilla chip-base that is blended with a made-in-the-moment salsa of red or green tomato (or sometimes both salsas, making “divorciados”), then topped with eggs or shredded chicken, often with cheese and/or cream added underneath and a few thin slices of raw onion as a final touch.
No Nightshade Chilaquiles
Developing my no-nightshades chilaquiles recipe felt like a big win because it meant I could keep one of my favorite dishes in my life, without risking inflammatory pain from the red or green tomato salsa the recipe traditionally includes. I also found that preparing a no-nightshades sauce in lieu of this added more nutritional density to the dish. This no night-shades sauce consists of a puree of sautéed onion and garlic with leafy greens and chicken broth, along with some salt and pepper.
To be clear, my no-nightshade chilaquiles are not an AIP-compliant dish, but perhaps a modified AIP-compliant dish depending on what foods you have been successfully able to reintroduce without symptoms-flare. The ingredients of this receipt that are not AIP-compliant are: corn, eggs, cheese, and pepper. I will offer modifications for these ingredients in the ingredients list below.
Recipe Prep
An important detail to keep in mind upon deciding to prepare chilaquiles is if you are going to prepare your own tortilla chips or use pre-made tortilla chips. While preparing your own is very simple, it does take a bit more time and include a few more steps than using chips that are already made. I tend to buy pre-fried chips but avoid corporate packaged and processed brands, as the texture of these chips don’t work as well for chilaquiles. If there is a local market, small grocery-store, or tortilleria near you, try checking with them for recently fried tortilla chips packaged and produced on a small scale. These chips have often been made in the last day or two with tortillas that we made within the couple days prior. They are thin and crunchy and work much better for preparing chilaquiles than thicker, mass-produced tortilla chips.
Ingredients Needed
Besides choosing your chips or preparing them yourself, the rest of the ingredients you will require to prepare your no-nightshade chilaquiles are:
leafy greens (at least a cup or more)
½ white onion
1 clove of garlic
1 ½ cups of chicken broth (this may be pre-bought or prepared at home)
2 eggs
¼ cup of your choice of cheese
Tools Needed
knife
cutting board
blending bowl (or glass pitcher)
immersion blender (or traditional blender)
deep cooking pan
frying pan
spatula
How to make No-Nightshade Chilaquiles
Decide if you are going to make your own tortilla chips and chicken broth or buy them. I tend to buy freshly made tortilla chips and prepare my own chicken broth at some point a head of time to have on hand.
Once ingredients are gathered, the first step is to chop your onions and garlic and then sauté them both with light salt and pepper, starting with the onions of course.
While the onion and garlic are sautéing, you can begin chopping up your leafy greens. Keep in mind, these are about to be blended so no need to chop very fine.
Pour your chicken broth into the blender, bowl, or glass pitcher, then add your sautéed onion & garlic, the washed and chopped leafy greens, and again salt and pepper.
Preparing a no-nightshade “salsa”: Blend your ingredients together with the blender or immersion blender until they become the consistency of a tomato salsa.
The fibers of the leafy greens will help the mix not become too thin, but it is still important to put the right amount of chicken broth for the no-nightshade salsa to achieve desired consistency. If your mixture seems too thick, try adding a splash more of chicken broth. If it turns out too thin, there will be a chance to boil out some of the water in the upcoming steps.
Next Steps
6. Reheat the pan you used to sauté the onion and garlic to a low heat. Once the pan is hot, pour out your no-nightshade salsa into the pan. We want to let the greens cook through at this step, and for the flavor of the sautéed onion and garlic to diffuse throughout the greens and broth. Leave it cooking a little longer if your no-nightshade salsa came out thin and you need to steam some water away.
7. Be sure to not over-heat the sauce so that it does’t loose its ideal consistency. While the sauce is cooking, use another pan to fry your egg (or eggs), so that the egg(s) are ready at the same time as the rest of the recipe.
Final Steps
8. Once your no-nightshade “salsa” has settled to the proper consistency, turn off heat and add your tortilla chips to that same pan. Chilaquiles are prepared by mixing the salsa and chips together, to soak the chips evenly with the sauce, not just pouring the sauce on top of the chips.
9. Once the tortilla chips are thoroughly combined with the no-nightshade salsa, plate your chilaquiles and top with the fried egg(s)! Additional optional toppings include: cheese of your choice (this should go above the chips & under the egg, to help with melting), cilantro, or a bit of avocado. Many places throughout Mexico top chilaquiles with a few thin slices of raw red onion.
Benefits of No-Nightshade Chilaquiles
Besides being a delicious dish that helps us no-nightshade folks feel included in the wealth of Mexican breakfast cuisine, No-Nightshade Chilaquiles are great to prepare for many other reasons as well, including:
nutrient-density
While traditional chilaquiles are not necessarily not nutritious (besides the fried chips, which this recipe also calls for) replacing tomato and chile based salsa with a leafy greens & chicken broth-based sauce increases the nutrient density of the dish.
anti-inflammatory
For people sensitive to inflammation, of which nightshades may often be a culprit, No-Nightshade Chilaquiles can guarantee a delicious meal experience without the worry of how your body ma react afterwards. If you are sensitive to eggs and cheese, take these out of the recipe and try topping your No-Nightshade Chilaquiles with shredded chicken. Goat cheese may also be considered as an alternative topping in the case of lactose sensitivity.
high-protein
When I am home in the jungle, I tend to prepare my No-Nightshade Chilaquiles with Chaya, a high-protein, iron-rich, superfood native to the Yucatan Peninsula. When I am not here, I have also prepared the sauce with a mix of kale and spinach.
Whichever greens you choose combined with the chicken-broth base will bring a protein boost where there isn’t one with the salsa of traditional Chilaquiles. Topping with eggs brings another protein boost. I recommend preparing this with duck eggs if you have access to them, as they contain about 5 grams of protein more than chicken eggs. Adding a bit of cheese of your choice can also bring a little protein boost.
No-Nightshades Me
Over the years of navigating how my autoimmune systems respond to diet and lifestyle, crafting recipes like these No-Nightshade Chilaquiles has helped me satisfy cravings without exposing my body to foods that I know spike my inflammation. The fact that this dish is nutrient-dense and packed with protein is an added bonus. Overall, I don’t miss nightshades in my life and creating adaptations and No-Nightshade versions of my favorite dishes help me keep moving forward and nourishing myself in my health journey.
