Vegetarian Rice & Beans Burrito with Queso Sauce

Blogging Marathon# 53: Week 1/ Day 3

Theme: Tortilla based Dishes

Dish: Vegetarian Rice & Beans Burrito with Queso Sauce

For the last day of this week's marathon under 'Tortilla based dishes' theme, I made rice & beans filled burritos. We love Mexican food and I make it at least once a week. I always keep tortillas in stock for quick wraps, burritos or tacos.

Taco Bell happens to be our favorite fast food restaurant and before you start judging me let me tell you that is the only place where we get a decent choice of vegetarian options. Also they keep adding new items on to their menu unlike other fast food chains where we usually exhaust the dishes to try the first time we visit. Other Mexican fast food places we visit are Qdoba & Chipotle. So moral of the story is we love Mexican food and eat it quite frequently at home and outside.

But I never order burritos when I go out. I feel they get very messy while eating, so usually order burrito bowls instead. Making and eating them at home is much more convenient for me.

Burritos are made with tortillas that are wrapped or folded into a cylindrical shape to completely enclose the filling. Fillings can be anything from flavored or plain rice, refried beans or beans, lettuce, salsa, meat, guacamole, cheese and sour cream. 

My burrito recipe has spinach & corn rice, spicy pinto beans and a creamy queso sauce. It has quite a few components, but once you have everything ready, making burritos is a breeze. If you are short on time, then just make plain rice rice and beans, serve with store bought salsa and guacamole. Queso sauce adds cheesy, creamy goodness to the burritos. Do give this recipe a try, I'm sure you'll like it.

Ingredients: Makes 4 burritos
For the Burritos: 
Flour Tortillas - 4 (I use wholegrain tortillas)
Avocado - 1, chopped (or guacamole)
Salsa - ¼cup (either homemade or store bought would work)
Sour cream - for serving

For Rice Layer:
Long grain rice - 1cup
Onion -1 small, chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, finely minced
Jalapeno - 1, finely chopped
Spinach - ½cup frozen or 2~3 cups fresh spinach, chopped 

Corn kernels - ½cup (fresh or frozen)
Salt & Pepper - to taste

For Pinto Beans:
Pinto Beans - 1cup, cooked
Onion - 1 small, chopped

Garlic - 2 cloves, finely minced

Jalapeno - ½ of a small, finely chopped

Tomato puree - ¼cup
Ground Cumin - ½tsp
Chili powder - ½tsp
Salt & Pepper - to taste

For Queso Sauce:
Butter - 1tbsp

Shallot - 1 small, finely chopped

Garlic - 1 cloves, finely minced

Jalapeno - ½ of a small, finely chopped

Corn Starch - 2tsp
Milk - ¾cup 

Cream cheese - 2tbsp

Cheese (Cheddar, Monterey Jack etc) - ¼cup, grated

Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Make Rice: Heat 1tbsp oil in a heavy bottomed pan; add onion, jalapeno, garlic and cook till onions turn translucent. Next add the spinach and corn, cook for 3~4 minutes.
• Add the rice and 1½~2cups of rice (adjust the quantity of water depending on the type of rice used), bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15~20 minutes or until rice is cooked through. Set aside to cool.
• Make Pinto beans: Heat 2tsp oil in a pan, add onion, jalapeno and garlic; cook for 3~4 minutes. 
• Next add chili powder, ground cumin and tomato puree. Cook for 2~3 minutes.
• Add the cooked pinto beans and season with salt & pepper. Add some water if the mixture looks too thick, simmer for 5~10 minutes.
• Make Queso Sauce: In a sauce pan, melt butter and add shallot, garlic and jalapeno. Cook for 2~3 minutes.
• Season with salt & pepper. Next add corn starch and cook for a minute.
• Stir in the milk and let the mixture bubble for a minute. Add cream cheese and cheese, mix well until the cheese melts. Turn off the heat and keep ready.
• To make Burritos: Lay the tortilla flat on a surface. Place some rice in the lower half of the tortilla, top it with the beans, then salsa, followed by queso sauce and some avocado pieces. Fold the lower half of the tortilla over the filling, tuck the edges in and flip it over to make the burrito roll. Cut the burrito in half and serve.

 

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 53.