In E1 I showed you how to make unbelievable meatless burgers. In E2 I’ll show you how to make my second favorite dish, burritos. It’s a proven (completely made up) fact that everything tastes better in a tortilla. They are also easier for clean up because you don’t need to use a fork. Heck, you don’t even need a plate. I was a lazy single guy when I started cooking plant based so fewer dishes was always better. Very quickly everything I made ended up wrapped in a tortilla. With my experience of trying out a myriad of grounds and veggie combos I’m giving you my ultimate burrito recipe. This bad boy is savory, spicy, and perfectly delicious.
As you follow the show you're going to see me use a variety of products and they are all specifically chosen. They are all easily found in most grocery chains and they are the best replacement for their animal product version. In the burrito, I am using the Trader Joe’s soy chorizo because it is the lowest priced, highest quality chorizo I have found on the market. It also seems to always be in stock if you have access to TJ’s. This recipe works just as well with the ground beef products if you don’t care for the flavor of the chorizo.
When I add oil to the pan you’ll notice that I use a blend of olive oil, coconut oil, and a generic hot sauce. When the potatoes are frying they soak up some of the oil. Extra oil is needed to keep the skillet from drying out. The coconut oil just adds a bit of some healthier fats. I don’t cook for health reasons but in this case you don’t lose any flavor. Why be excessive if you don’t have to be? I add the hot sauce to replace salt. Many of the generic hot sauce brands have a good amount of sodium in them. It’s like adding salt, flavor, and spice throughout the potatoes. It's my favorite way to season ground beef because I like seasoning but I love shortcuts.
Now let’s talk cheese. I said it before and I’ll say it again, VioLife cheese is the BEST dairy free cheese. Everything they make is a great taste-for-taste replacement for the dairy version. Cheese was the first thing I was unsure about giving up when I made the decision to cook plant based. The beginning was rough. I LOVE CHEESE. I was born in the dairy state of Wisconsin and would add a not-doctor-recommended amount to everything. I tried Diaya and Mykonos and thought they were NOT good. My fears of missing cheese were coming true. Not all plant based replacements are created equal, many are terrible. Nothing will turn someone off to trying plant based eating like bad food. It is my goal to make sure that doesn’t happen to you. Other great non-dairy cheeses: Follow Your Heart (particularly their gouda and provolone), 365 (Whole Foods house brand), Trader Joe’s parmesan shreds, and Chao cheese made by Field Roast brand. But VioLife will always be king.
INGREDIENTS:
Burrito size tortilla (any brand you prefer)
Violife Mexican style shreds
Trader Joe’s soy chorizo (½ pack)
Red onion
Tomato
Cilantro
Yukon gold potato
Serrano pepper
Trader Joe’s guajillo salsa
Avacado
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Tapatio hot sauce (Louisiana, Texas Pete, or Tabasco will also work)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cut the potato into small cubes and finely dice Serrano pepper.
Turn on the burner to medium heat and put a generous mix of olive, coconut oil and Tapatio hot sauce. Add potato to oil and hot sauce mixture and fry until lightly brown.
Dice the rest of your veggies for topping.
When potatoes are a light brown color add the chorizo. Cook until chorizo browns then add the Serrano pepper. Cook for a couple more min then add cheese shreds. Pull off the burner when the cheese has melted.
Warm tortillas to soften. This can be done on the skillet or the microwave.
Fill tortillas with all of the delicious toppings you want. Roll the burrito (hopefully better than me).
Pour yourself another beer and enjoy!
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BEER
The beer I chose to pair with this mighty burrito is a hearty titan itself. I LOVE Great Divide Brewing and I also prefer hoppy with spicy. Obvi the only choice is Titan IPA. THIS bad boy is crammed with hops and finishes with just enough sweetness to quench the mighty Serrano burn you’ll get from the bad boy burrito. Also, Great Divide is one of the easier breweries to find outside of Colorado, so Cheers and good eatin’.