Much to Andrew's disappointment, Mexican/Tex-Mex is the one cuisine I almost never cook. It's just never appealed to me very much. These black bean burritos, however, are different. They're a happy marriage of all my favorite flavors and textures, and they're vegetarian. Best of all, they're quick and easy to throw together. I've tweaked the recipe from Dinner: A Love Story to have double the spices (thanks, Korena in the Kitchen) and double the pickled red onions (with half the water because I made that mistake once and found that the onions came out even better). We've already made them three times. They're a keeper for sure.
Black Bean Burritos
(Adapted from Dinner: A Love Story)
For the pickled red onions:
- 6 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
For the black beans:
- 6 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 3-4 tsp sauce from a can of chipotle in adobo
- 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen corn (or kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn)
For the burritos:
- 6 large tortillas
- 8 oz grated cheddar cheese (or storebought shredded Mexican cheese)
- Handful finely chopped cilantro
- Toppings: Sour cream, salsa, lime, cilantro
- Quick-pickle your onions: Bring vinegar, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the onion and simmer, uncovered, for about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Make your black beans: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the garlic, scallions, cumin, chipotle sauce, jalapeno, and cook, stirring about 1 minute. Stir in the beans, mashing with a fork until they are chunky and most beans are mashed. Add another 1/3 cup water and cook, stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Toss in corn and stir until corn is thawed. Remove from the heat.
- Assemble your burritos: Spread a generous portion of bean filling across the middle of each tortilla, leaving some space at both ends. Sprinkle with your desired amount of cheese, quick-pickled onions, and cilantro (if you're not a cilantro hater like me). Fold the ends of the tortillas over the filling, enclosing filling tightly. Wrap all burritos, making 6 total.
- Fry your burritos: Heat a teaspoon or so of oil in another skillet over medium-high heat. Add two burritos at a time, seam side down and fry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Turn over and fry the other side until golden, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining burritos and serve with desired toppings.
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