Veg*n Cooking and Other Random Musings: Potato, Veggie and Wild Rice Burros with Jalapeno-Tomatillo Green Sauce and Tomatillo Guacamole

Monday, April 21, 2008

Potato, Veggie and Wild Rice Burros with Jalapeno-Tomatillo Green Sauce and Tomatillo Guacamole

This might, at first, seem like a very strange combination of ingredients to use in Mexican food. But I've learned that so long as you get the seasoning right, you can pair all sorts of interesting things together and get a fairly 'authentic' taste.

Note: This sauce is quite spicy. I would suggest using it sparingly, and if you aren't into spice, perhaps skip this sauce. Also, we are going to try this using a mix of long grain brown and wild rice next time, I think it would be even better that way.

Jalapeno-Tomatillo Sauce















Makes 3 cups

3 tomatillos, husked and chopped
15 jalapenos, seeded and minced
1 habanero, seeded and minced
1/2 yellow onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup of cilantro, washed and shredded
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
cumin
white pepper
salt

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small sauce pan. Add the peppers and onion and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the tomatillos and cook an additional 5 minutes. Transfer veggies to a food processor.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until very smooth and fairly thin, adding the liquid in batches.

This will last about a week in the fridge and freezes well. I kept one cup out to use this week and froze two, one cup portions for later use.

FOR: Tacos, Tostadas, Taco Salads, Burritos and Burros, Quesadillas, Fajitas, Flautas, Nachos

Spicy Tomatillo Guacamole
1 avocado, peeled and mashed
1 clove garlic, minced
4 Chiles Japones, minced (or crushed red pepper)
chipotle chili powder
cumin
dash of cayenne (optional)
salt
juice of half a lime

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and chill for about a half hour to let the flavors blend.

Potato, Veggie and Wild Rice Burros
























1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
chili powder
cumin
ground coriander
Mexican oregano
dash cinnamon
pinch unsweetened cocoa powder
salt
1 tsp coconut oil

Preheat oven to 425.

Melt coconut oil in a baking dish in the oven.

Combine the potatoes and spices and bake,covered with foil, for 30-35 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.

1/2 cup frozen green beans, cooked
1 zucchini, roasted and sliced
4 serrano peppers, minced
1 habanero, minced
1 poblano pepper, minced
1/4 yellow onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup cooked wild rice
salt

tortillas
spicy tomatillo guacamole
jalapeno-tomatillo green sauce

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet.

Add the peppers and onion and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. Drain any excess water and combine veggies in a small bowl and season with salt.

Layer rice, potatoes, veggies and some Jalapeno-Tomatillo sauce if you desire. Fry if you like andserve with spicy tomatillo guacamole.

Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I used to be averse to the idea of buying fresh spices as I didn't know what to do with an entire bunch. Well, I am still fairly averse with most fresh spices, though I'm going to be getting some through our CSA, so I better get over that. However, I will buy cilantro. After I've used what I need, we wash the rest of the bunch and hang it upside to dry. Then we use it as a dried spice. It's really easy and works great on most herbs.

If you notice, there are two jalapenos back there too. I've slit them and am hanging them in a first attempt to dry peppers (in anticipation of having to preserve some of my hopefully abundant pepper yield). I've looked into it fairly extensively, and from what I've read, all you have to do is slit them, hang them in a non-humid area and wait. We'll see.















'Til next time.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never tried tomatillos, do they taste like tomatoes? (I know it's a stupid question, lol)

Lizzy said...

Why didn't I think of hanging herbs upside down to dry before? Thanks for reminding me =)

And as usual your dinner makes me want to lick the screen or better yet beam myself into your kitchen to eat your leftovers, muah =p
I want to make your fiesta burrito or a combination of all the great recipes you already posted this week. I already told my boyfriend that he'll get served "gorgeous and doubtlessly delicious meat free mexican food from a very reliable mexican food expert" any day now, ha ha!

ChickPea said...

Ooh I like the idea of wild rice versus regular rice in the burrito...you've inspired me to pick up a few Mexican ingredients at the store today!

jessy said...

oh my goodness - i'm drooling! the green sauce looks so darn tasty!

oh, and dan is a vegan. we're new to veganism - just started 1/1/2008. i used to be veggie waaaaaay back in the day for about 9 years. just before thanksgiving (2007) i told him, "i'm gonna go back to be'n veg at the beginning of the year." and he said "let's go all the way and be vegans!". i said "sounds awesome!" so here we are! :)

dan doesn't like many mock things though - he doesn't care for seitan, mock chicken salad, other fake meats, etc - but he said the "tuna" salad was so good - and that an omni would love it, too!

p.s. - wild rice - mmmmmm! i love that stuff!

Bianca said...

I love tomatillos but I never know what to do with them..except put them in tomatillo sauce. The guac is a great idea! And I love potatoes in burritoes.

Alicia said...

believe it or not, I have never seen a tomatillo in my whole life. Maybe they don't grow in Spain? no idea. But besides that, I love the idea of putting potatoes, wild rice and veggies in a burrito!

Kumquat Peekapoo said...

OH, I love the color in your food! And tomatillos are one of my favorites.

Anonymous said...

as always, your food looks soooo tasty! and i never knew there was mexican oregano...how is it different from other oregano?

Anonymous said...

I am loving the Mexican food on this blog. I don't get enough of it in my life!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

you amaze me.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I love you and all your Mexican food-ness!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Oh my, that looks SO good!

Unknown said...

The more spicy the better for me. Like Lizzy I would also like to be beamed into your kitchen to try this one.

J said...

Romina - No worries, I hadn't either a few years ago. If this makes sense, they taste like a mix between a green tomato (without the bitterness) and a lime (without all the sourness). They are really good!

Lizzy - I know, I wish I would have thought of it sooner. All those herbs I passed up because I didn't know what to do with the excess.

Hahahaha! You are too sweet Lizzy. I hope whatever you make is satisfactory!

Chickpea - It was a nice change up. Wild rice has a much nuttier flavor.

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Jessy - It was perfectly spicy, even better after sitting for a day.

Lucky! Congrats, I went vegan back in December, so I'm not too much more experienced myself. I've been surprised at how easy it is!

Dan would get along with us just fine. We don't eat mock things, or tofu, tempeh or seitan. We'll eat tofu on occasion, but tempeh and seitan, NO!

Bianca - Branch out! Tomatillos are so versatile, I have too many ideas for what to do with those guys. Potatoes in burritos rock.

Alice - Oh no! Do an image search if you can (like on Google), they look like small green tomatoes with a husk over them. Not sure if they would grow in Spain, I know here in the US they are mostly grown down south.

Kumquat - Thanks! It's by accident, but I like it too. :-) Tomatillos rock!

Vegan Addict - Thank you so much. Ok, Mexican oregano, I've been asked this before, I'm going to use the trusty Wikipedia, as it would do a better job than me of explaining:

"Mexican oregano, Lippia graveolens (Verbenaceae) is closely related to lemon verbena. It is a highly studied herb that is said to be of some medical use and is common in curandera female shamanic practices in Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Mexican oregano has a very similar flavour to oregano, but is usually stronger. It is becoming more commonly sold outside of Mexico, especially in the United States. It is sometimes used as a substitute for epazote leaves; this substitution would not work the other way round.

Several other plants are also known as oregano in various parts of Mexico, including Poliomintha longiflora, Lippia berlandieri, and Plectranthus amboinicus (syn. Coleus aromaticus), also called Cuban oregano."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregano

It's really easy to find (at least here in Columbia) and could be grown in a window sill quite easily. It has a unique flavor that adds a lot to the flavor of Mexican dishes. Since I can't find epazote, I use this.

Bean Mix - You should get more! Especially if you like beans, it's easy!

Pleasantly - Aw, thanks! :-)

Chocolate Covered - At least you know what to expect when visiting my blog, eh?

Melisser - Thanks so much!

Cookiemouse - You and I would get along fine then! I have to tone it down more than I'd like at times because Brett can't handle as much spice as I can. We've taken to having 'Jen only' sauces, where I can use habaneros til my hearts content!

Haha! Well you guys are always welcome! If my garden goes well, I am likely to have a pantry FULL of this stuff.

Vegan_Noodle said...

That jalapeno tomatillo sauce sounds sooooo good!! I think I may have just figured out dinner for tonight! My hubby will love it.

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

I hang dry too!

J said...

Vegan_Noodle - Thanks! I hope he likes it!

Happy Herbivore - I think you are right, we ARE related! :-)

muebles alicante said...

Here, I do not really imagine it is likely to have effect.