The captious vegetarian

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in the cookbook Sara Moulton Cooks At Home.

• 2 sweet potatoes, about 10 ounces each
• 2 tbs. oil
• 1 small onion (about 4 ounces), finely chopped (should yield about 1/2 cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1.5 cups cooked black beans or one 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water, or bean cooking liquid
• salt and pepper
• freshly grated nutmeg to taste
• eight 6-inch flour tortillas
• 2 to 3 scallions, white part only, thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• shredded romaine, sour cream and chopped pickled jalepenos for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prick the potatoes with a knife in several places and bake in a small baking pan lined with tin foil until very tender, 1 to 1.5 hours.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbs. veg. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring often until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute longer. Stir in the cumin and chili powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and the stock, cover, and cook until the beans are very soft and the flavors have blended, about 5 minutes. Use a fork or potato masher to coarsely mash the beans. Season with salt and pepper. You should have about 1.5 cups.
3. Remove the potatoes from the oven and cool. Keep the oven at the same temperature. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, halve and scoop out the flesh. Place the flesh in a small bowl and use a fork to mash coarse. Discard the skins. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. You should have 1.5 to two cups.
4. Spread the tortillas with roughly equal amounts of the bean mixture. Top with equal amounts of the potato puree. Sprinkle on equal amounts of scallions and cheese. Roll the tortillas into cylinders and arrange, seam side down, on a baking sheet. Brush the tops with vegetable oil. For a soft burrito, cover with foil and bake until warm through, about 20 minutes. Bake uncovered for a crisper burrito.

My Notes

I used extra cumin and chili powder and a fresh jalepeno because it looked bland. I used the juice that the black beans cooked in rather than the vegetable broth. Instead of monterey jack I used sharp cheddar from the farmer’s market. We could taste the nutmeg, and it was an unusual but nice addition. The amounts are quite accurate to make 8 small burritos, to serve four.

Derek says these burritos were quite good. He especially liked the sweet potato and cheese combination. He said the filling would be good even without the tortillas, but not without the cheese.

Update March 2007: I made this recipe again, except I doubled it. I used 4 smallish sweet potatoes, two cans of black beans. I added 1/2 cup of water to the black beans, and 2 tsp. cumin, 1/2 Tbs. chili powder, and jalepeno powder. I used 1/4 tsp. (not freshly grated) nutmeg, which was plenty. We could definitely taste it but it wasn’t overpowering. I didn’t double the oil–just used the original 2 Tbs., which was plenty to cook the onions and garlic. I did have to add salt to the beans. I used 8 ounces of sharp organic cheddar, which was a good amount, maybe even a tad too much. Next time I think I would just use 6 ounces of cheese for 12 burritos. I used whole foods red chile tortillas, which went with the filling quite well. I made 11 burritos, but could of made 12 if I hadn’t eaten the last tortilla. We served them with a green salsa, and a red salsa, from Frontera grill. The salsas were essential, as without them the burritos are just a tad dry. These burritos were a bit larger than last time. With a side of greens, one was sufficient for me for dinner. Everyone else at dinner had two, however. I think if I had cut the burritos in half, or made them smaller, people might have been satisfied with just one, or one and a half. Also, our big plates looked quite empty with just the lonely burrito and a small scoop of greens. Maybe I should have served a big salad to cover up the rest of the plate And kept the burritos in the kitchen so they weren’t just sitting right in front of us for the whole meal.

With this recipe, the nutritional info for 1 of 11 burritos (31% fat, 11% saturated fat, 15% protein, 54% carbs):

Calories	400
Total Fat	14.6g
Saturated Fat	5.1g
Cholesterol	22mg
Sodium	709mg
Carbohydrate	56.6g
Dietary Fiber	9.2g
Sugars	7.8g
Protein	16g
Vitamin A 347% Vitamin C 25% Calcium 22% Iron 15%

Rating: B

Derek: A