Mexican Monday: Chipotle-Style Burritos

Yes, today is Wednesday and I did actually make these burritos on Tuesday.  The Memorial Day holiday threw me off a day and with the heat on Monday I didn't really feel like cooking anything.  So, Mexican Monday happened on Tuesday and I'm posting the meal on Wednesday. 

Since we've been limiting our amount of eating out lately, I've reinstituted a way we used to do meals when we were paying off our credit card debt and saving for a house - make what you would have gotten at a restaurant.  Thanks to Dave's Chipotle-Style Rice and Food Networks Magazine's recipe for Chipotle's Corn Salsa, I am now able to make Chipotle Burritos at home.  And it's become a regular for our spring/summer menu rotation.  We feel like burritos are an all-inclusive food, so we don't even have any side dish with them.  There are hundreds of possible combinations you can put on your burrito at Chipotle; here's what we make at home.

Chipotle-Style Burritos

My burrito - before rolling

Makes 4 or more burritos, depending on how much you like to fill it

4 Flour tortillas, burrito sized

1 recipe Chipotle rice a la Dave

1 can Black beans

1 Green pepper, sliced

1/4 Red onion, sliced

1 recipe Almost-Famous Corn Salsa (below)

Monterrey Jack cheese, finely shredded

Avocado, cubed OR Guacamole

Sour cream

Hot Sauce

1.  Open can of black beans, place in sauce pan, warm on low, stirring occasionally until warmed through.

2.  Prepare Almost-Famous Corn Salsa recipe.

3.  To make your burrito fajitas style, cook the sliced green pepper and red onion over medium heat until hot, but still crunchy, about 5 minutes, stirring often.  I didn't even put any oil in the pan to do this.

4.  Warm your tortilla according to package directions.  Lacking the neat tortilla press that Chipotle has, I warmed my tortillas over the open flame of my stove, flipping after about 10 seconds. 

5.  Assemble burrito.  First lay down your rice, then beans, then pepper/onion mixture.  Then add your toppings:  corn salsa, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, avocados. 

6.  Roll your burrito (good luck) and enjoy!

Almost-Famous Corn Salsa

Serves 4

Directly from Food Network Magazine, June 2011

1/2 small poblano chile pepper, seeded
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears), or 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
 
1.  Preheat a grill to medium high. Brush the poblano with 1 teaspoon olive oil and grill, skin-side down, until charred but still firm, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly; peel and finely chop.

2.  If using fresh corn, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes; drain.
3.  Mix the corn (if using frozen, add it here), poblano, jalapeno, cilantro and red onion in a bowl. Stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, the lime juice, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt.