veggie burritos

I love Mexican food. I could probably eat it three times a week. These veggie burritos are a Meatless Monday staple at our house. For this week’s batch, in honor of Going Local Week, I used Newby’s sweet corn and homegrown peppers and zucchini and topped it all off with some homemade pico de gallo with heirloom tomatoes straight from the garden.

Veggie Burritos
Loosely adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Ingredients
For the sauce:
Olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp cumin
2 tsp honey
1 can tomato paste
1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

For the filling:
2 cups black beans, cooked and drained
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 regular-sized zucchini, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 ears sweet corn, cooked and shucked from the cob
1 jalepeno, diced finely (leave the seeds and ribbing in if you want more of a kick)
1.5 cups enchilada sauce (above)
1.5 cups cheese, divided – I used cheddar, but Monterrey jack would be delicious
8 tortillas – I used flour, but corn would be great, as well

Directions

To make the enchilada sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and water, bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 450. Add the oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until slightly softened. Add the zucchini and corn and cook just until tender, only a couple minutes more.  Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the beans and cook until combined.

Transfer the veggie mixture to a large bowl and stir in one cup of the enchilada sauce and one cup of the cheese – stir briefly to combine.

Depending on the size of your tortillas, spread about a 1/2 cup of the veggie/cheese/sauce mixture into each tortilla, tightly roll up the tortilla and place in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of the sauce over the burritos and do the same with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Cover with foil and bake for about ten minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional five minutes until the cheese is slightly browned on top.

Tips and Tricks

• This will make more sauce than you will use for the burritos, which is a wonderful thing. I usually freeze the leftover sauce and use it for a quick taco night when I don’t want to think about what to cook for dinner. For tacos, I usually brown some local ground beef or pork and just add the sauce to the browned meat for easy and tasty tacos.
• If you’re making your own beans (do it – it’s so easy, way cheaper, and tastier too!), I always make extra and freeze a few cups for an easy addition to taco night, soups, salads, etc. on nights when I don’t have time to cook them.
• This freezes well and makes a great meal to take to friends after a baby, surgery, etc. Just assemble everything together and then freeze instead of putting it in the oven. Leave a note for the recipient (or yourself) to thaw before cooking to the specifications listed above.
• This works great with some ground beef/pork/chicken for a non-veg version.
• It also works great based on whatever vegetables you have on hand depending on the season –  I make it with shredded carrots and diced celery in the middle of winter, for example. Broccoli and spinach are tasty too. Get creative!