Burritos with Potatoes, Roasted Poblanos and Beans (vegan)

Burritos are such a nice food to prepare. You can make so many different fillings and simply wrap them in small or large flour tortillas and voila, lunch or dinner is ready. You don’t even need a salad because the greens can form part of the filling. These burritos are quite satisfying, with sautéed potatoes forming the main part of the filling. I make this dish dairy free and you can even make it fat free if you wish, sautéing the potatoes in vegetable stock instead of oil. I know it’s hard to think about food this way but it is possible.

Poblanos and potatoes are a classic combination in Mexican cooking (at least I think so) so I combined them in this recipe. I had a couple fo fresh poblanos in the fridge from my last market foray so I roasted and peeled them, cut into strips and added to the potatoes. If you don’t have fresh poblanos you can use  canned roasted poblanos. I try to have a can or two of roasted poblano peppers in the pantry just for these situations when I need poblano flavour but cannot get fresh ones (not so easy to get here). If you don’t have either then substitute with red pepper and just sauté it with the potatoes and onion.

So how do I make it? I sauté the onion in a little olive oil, add a large clove of garlic and then the cooked, chopped potatoes. I add the roasted poblano strips together with ancho chili powder (ancho chili is dried poblano), oregano, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime.  I toss in a small can of organic beans, lightly mashed with a fork and that’s it. I also like to make fresh tomato salsa to go with it and we just spoon a little salsa on the filling before rolling up the tortillas.

To serve you know how to make a burrito: pile the filling in the middle of the tortilla, top with chopped lettuce, salsa, a drizzle of Mexican style hot sauce of some kind and voila. Burritos for dinner.

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Ingredients:

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2 poblano peppers

8 small potatoes

1 small can organic beans, drained

6 Flour tortillas

 

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon ancho chili powder

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

Salt and pepper

Juice of 1 lime, optional

A handful cilnatro

Chopped Romaine lettuce

Mexican style hot sauce (prepared)

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Directions:

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Roasted the poblano peppers over a gas flame or in the oven. When the skin is nicely charred remove from heat and let sit covered for 30 minutes, then peel the skin off and discard.

Cut the poblanos along the natural sections and removed seeds and white membrane. Be careful as sometimes the poblanos are hot (spicy) and their oil can burn your skin. The oil resides in seeds and white membrane  so be careful and even wear kitchen gloves if necessary. Cut the poblanos into strips and set aside.

Wash the potatoes and if the skin is thin do not peel. Place the potatoes in a steamer pot over water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until potatoes are cooked through. You can pierce them with a thin knife to check if they are done. When they are done let cool until you can handle them and then cut into bite-size pieces.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the onion and cook until translucent, 3 minutes or so. Add the chopped garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add the potatoes and cook until they are crisp on the outside. It wont take long as they are already cooked.

Add the ancho chili powder , oregano, salt and pepper.

Add the poblano strips and mix gently to combine.

Add the drained canned beans (you can mash them slightly with a fork).

If you want a tangy flavour then squeeze half a lime over and taste it. If you want more tang add more lime juice.

Add the cilantro and mix.

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Tomato Salsa:

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2 ripe tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped fine

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1-2 jalapeno chilis, seeded and chopped

Salt and pepper

Lime juice

Chop the tomatoes into small dice.

Add chopped onion to the tomatoes.

Add chopped jalapeño.

Add cilantro.

Season with salt and pepper and squeeze some lime juice over to taste.

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Assembling the burritos:

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Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet on each side for a few second. You can also do this in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds.

Lay burrito on a plate, spoon some of the potato-poblano mixture in the middle. top with fresh tomato salsa and a handful of chopped Romaine leaves.

Fold the tortilla up from the bottom to prevent the filling from leaking, then roll sides over.

Serve warm with additional salsa on the side.

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