Vegetarian Burritos

I decided to do a comparison between Chipotle's vegetarian burritos and mine.  I don't know if it was just that they were having a bad day or something, but mine totally won, hands down.  They did win for wrapping though.  I can't wrap a burrito for the life of me.  Probably because I stuff them way too full.  I always end up eating it with a fork.  

These burritos are an easy weeknight meal that don't take much thought or skill.  We always buy bulk black beans and soak and cook them ourselves, but if you want to save time, or don't plan ahead, you can always use canned.  And... if you must... you can add meat (but they are super filling without).

Vegetarian Burritos

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 large burrito tortilla shells

1 cup black beans (or one can)

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup rice (I use basmati, but jasmine would work well too)

1 lime

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 TBS. grapeseed oil (or oil of choice)

salt and pepper

Directions:

Soak your beans over night and rinse.  Place them in a small saucepan and fill with water until it reaches about an inch over the beans.  Bring them to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 1-2 hours (depending on how mushy you like your beans).  Rinse and drain.

Zest and juice the lime and set aside. 

If using basmati rice, rinse with warm water at least 3 times (basmati tends to be very starchy so you must rinse it).  Put rice in a small saucepan and fill with 1 1/2 cups water.  With the lid on, bring rice to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, pour the lime juice and zest into the rice.  Add the chopped cilantro and stir. Season with salt.

Over medium heat, heat the oil and add the red pepper, onion, and garlic.  Saute for about 15 minutes.  Season with pepper.

To assemble.  Place the tortilla on a plate.  Add a scoop of rice to the middle, followed by the beans, followed by the red pepper mixture.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.  May top with guacamole or salsa of choice.  Cross your fingers and wrap into a burrito.  Or, if you're like me and overfill, just grab a fork.

Enjoy!