Burritos and Quesadillas are another way an entire section of a cuisine has been organized around flatbreads. They are so versatile, delicious and practical there is no way not to enjoy them! Stuffed with beans cheese, vegetables and meat or flattened out for extra crispiness with the beans omitted these are a culinary classic heralding from northern mexico but popularized throughout the world.
While I make these both whole wheat and with sifted flour, I definitely recommend starting with a sifted flour at least in part as these must be rolled out very thin. I recommend the same technique as with the lavash for rolling and flipping your tortillas. Any bean or legume can be used but I prefer Jacob’s Cattle for a perfect “refried bean”(in this case the refried just refers to the double cooking but I use no oil when I prepare beans).
You can add rice to your burritos as well but this is not the original north Mexican style. For me the original style is preferred. Chorizo and egg or steak with spinach combined with the beans, melted cheese, poblanos, summer squash and onions, some raw red onion, and sour cream is an explosion of deliciousness. Customize it to suite your taste and what is seasonally available and it is hard to go wrong.
Ingredients:
- 1lb 6oz sifted Redeemer wheat
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons lard(or substitute butter or vegetable oil)
Directions:
- Mix together dry ingredients
- Mix water and oil with dry ingredients until a slightly stiff dough forms
- Leave dough to relax for 30 minutes
- Prepare fillings. I like sauteed onions and poblanos but almost any vegatble combo will work. Summer squash, bell peppers, and spinach are all very good as well. Spices like cumin and coriander are very complimentary
- Melt your cheese into the beans and saute any protein of choice.
- Here I also steamed spinach with garlic and a dash of salt.
- Take 1/4 to 1/3 cup of dough and roll into a very thin round on a silpat with plenty of flour to eliminate sticking. You may need to roll the tortilla with a rest in the middle. make sure to focus on rolling the edges out as they tend to be thicker than the middle.
- Preheat 12 inch pan or griddle to medium high heat and flip tortilla onto the dry pan
- flip after 2 minutes and finish for 1 minute on the second side
- Roll up your favorite fillings and enjoy!
Please note that this recipe is adapted from my forthcoming cookbook Harvesting Traditions. Please comment below and purchase the book if you enjoyed this recipe!