Free Inquiry #1: O’s Burritos

This first recipe was inspired by one of my best friends that I have known as long as I can remember: Owen. He made this dish for me and my friends this summer when we were visiting Kootenay Lake. Kootenay lake is a stunning, enormous glacier-fed lake near Nelson, in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. I have attached some pictures of the view from the deck where we were fortunate enough to eat these tasty burritos. I really love these burritos because you can choose whatever you want to put in them, they’re healthy, filling, they usually allow for leftovers and lunch the next day and of course, delicious! In fact, they are so delicious, I make a variation of these almost every week with my own twist. I will add some great variations that I have discovered over my many attempts in making these.

Ingredients

• Tortillas
• 1 Cup Rice
• 1-2 Medium Limes
• 1 Bunch of Cilantro – Minced
• 1 Can of black beans
• 1 Jalapeno – Diced
• 2 Garlic Cloves – Diced
• 1/4 Sweet Onion – Diced
• 1 Pack Ground Turkey (~400g)
• 1 Cup Purple Cabbage – Shredded
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper
• Paprika
• Chili Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Perinaise (specific, but in my opinion makes this burrito!)

Instructions

1. Start by preparing the vegetables. Wash and mince the cilantro. Dice the onion, jalapeño and garlic and shred/dice the cabbage.
2. Wash your rice in a fine strainer until the water running through is clear.
3. Cook your rice with a rice cooker with 2 cups of water (2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice). I usually start this now because it will take about 30 minutes to cook. If you do not have a rice cooker, cooking rice on the stove is easy and an example recipe is shown here.
4. Open and strain the beans. Place beans, garlic and about 1/4 cup of cilantro in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally as you prepare the other ingredients. Adjust temperature if the beans begin to stick to the bottom of the pan.
5. Add your ground turkey and 1/2 the diced jalapeno to a frying pan on medium-high heat and break it up into small pieces.
6. Once the turkey is broken up, season with 1 tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp paprika, 2 tsp garlic powder, 0.5-1 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on desired spice level), salt and pepper to taste. Set aside once cooked.
7. Once the rice is cooked, add the rest of the cilantro, the juice of 1-2 limes (depending on desired acidity level), the rest of the diced jalapeño and salt to taste. Mix well.
8. To assemble the burrito, toast your tortilla on a pan until it is warm and malleable. Be careful not to brown the tortilla or it will be difficult to fold. The great thing about burritos is you can prepare them however you want. I like to add perinaise to the base, followed by rice, beans, and turkey, then cabbage and onion to the top. Garnish with more cilantro or lime juice and extra sauce. Fold it into a burrito and enjoy!

Adaptations

There are so many different ways you can go here to change this recipe up. Here’s some examples of things that I have tried:

• Add fried tater-tots. This adds a nice crunchy texture to each bite.
• Replace turkey with your favorite protein: chicken, beef, breaded/crispy chicken etc.
• If you are vegetarian or you just want a change, I highly recommend replacing the turkey with fried brussels sprouts and/or cauliflower. This can be cooked with the same seasonings and done in the oven or air-fryer until crispy. I am personally not vegetarian but I love this option.
• Add guacamole.
• Replace the perinaise with chipotle mayo. To make chipotle mayo, combine 1/4 cup mayo, juice of 1/4 lime, pinch of salt and garlic powder, 1 tbs chipotle adobo sauce (from canned chipotle pepper). Optional: mince and add 1 of the chipotle peppers for an extra kick.
• If you don’t like a particular filling just remove it! My girlfriend usually removes the beans and replaces it with more rice, and uses crispy chicken instead of turkey.

Pictures

Reflections

I really love making this because it never gets old. You can change your protein or what you put in every time you make it. It’s really easy to make, requires minimal experience cooking and comes together in about 30 minutes or less. Thank you Owen for the inspiration.