Higaditos Oaxaquenos

Ingredients

• 1 kg bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 150 g chicken livers and gizzards
• 1 white onion, halved
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 bay leaves
• 500 g ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 200 g tomatillos, husked
• 4 whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 8 black peppercorns
• 4 dried chiles de arbol
• 1 large pinch saffron threads, or 1/2 tsp azafrancillo
• 10 eggs
• 2 tbsp lard
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 12 corn tortillas, to serve

Before you cook

• Rinse the gizzards well and trim any green patches from the livers.
• Chop the tomatoes and husk and rinse the tomatillos.
• Crack the eggs into a large bowl but leave them unbeaten for now.

Steps

1. Put the chicken, gizzards, half the onion, 3 garlic cloves, the bay leaves and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a large pot with 2.5 litres of water.
2. Bring it to a boil, skim off the foam and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
3. Add the livers and simmer for a further 8 minutes, until everything is tender.
4. Lift the meat out with a slotted spoon and keep the broth on a low heat.
5. Shred the chicken off the bone and chop the livers and gizzards small.
6. Toast the cloves, cumin, peppercorns and chiles de arbol on a dry comal for 45 seconds, until fragrant.
7. Blend the toasted spices with the tomatoes, tomatillos, the remaining onion half and 3 garlic cloves until smooth.
8. Heat the lard in a wide deep pan and pour the blended sauce in through a sieve.
9. Fry the sauce for 10 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and pulls away from the base of the pan.
10. Crumble the saffron between your fingers into the pan and stir it through.
11. Ladle in 1.2 litres of the strained chicken broth and bring it to a gentle simmer.
12. Stir in the shredded chicken and chopped offal and season with the remaining salt.
13. Beat the eggs hard for 1 minute, until pale and frothy.
14. Turn the heat right down so the broth barely trembles.
15. Pour the eggs over the surface in a slow steady stream, without stirring.
16. Leave the eggs completely undisturbed for 4 minutes, until they set into a single soft sheet across the top.
17. Cut the sheet into rough squares with the edge of a spoon and fold them once through the broth.
18. Ladle into deep bowls so every one gets egg, meat and plenty of broth.
19. Serve with lime wedges and hot tortillas.