Bean Burritos

From the book The Basic Gourmet by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis

Introduction

Like Red Beans and Rice, this is an example of “peasant food” that nearly everyone loves to eat! (We don’t know who coined that phrase, but it is descriptive.) Inexpensive, filling, and loaded with intense flavor, these bean burritos are easy to prepare and assemble, especially if you cook the beans a day or two in advance.

Ingredients

Bean Seasonings

Steps

1. Wash and pick over beans, removing any stones or debris. Place them in a 2-quart saucepan and add 4 cups cold water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn off heat, and allow beans to soak for 1 hour. Drain beans, cover with 3 cups water, bring to a boil, and boil 10 minutes, uncovered. Add bean seasonings except salt, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the beans are tender but not mushy, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in the salt. Place a tortilla on each of 4 warmed plates. Using a slotted spoon, so that the beans are well drained, portion ¼ of the beans onto one side of each tortilla. Scatter chopped white part of scallions, cheese, and cilantro over the beans, and fold over tortilla to cover bean mixture. Top with a little sour cream and garnish with sliced scallion tops. Serve with salsa on the side.

Notes

• Substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream; use mild jack cheese in place of Cheddar; top with a canned enchilada sauce; garnish with sliced black olives; add thinly sliced or diced leftover meat or poultry to the bean filling.
• For a vegetarian burrito leave out the bacon when cooking the beans, and include some white or brown cooked rice as filling.

This content is from the book The Basic Gourmet by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis.