Veg*n Cooking and Other Random Musings: Spicy Lentil Burritos with Chipotle Tomatillo-Serrano Sauce

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Spicy Lentil Burritos with Chipotle Tomatillo-Serrano Sauce

These burritos were really good, and easy to make too. Brett, who wasn't sure he liked lentils, has now warmed up to at least the green variety. No longer does he cringe when he hears I want to try something with lentils.....

I don't have any pictures of the burrito itself. I didn't end up with a good picture of the filling, they all came out blurry. And then I forgot to take a picture of it once I had wrapped it up and slathered it with (big surprise) guacamole. But if you've seen one burrito, you've seen 'em all right? I'll make sure to get a decent picture of the filling next time I make this, but suffice to say, picture or not, this meal was filling, spicy, tasty, all sorts of good things.

I also think this might be my favorite sauce I've made so far. It's smoky, spicy but not overly so, and flavorful. And I did get a picture of the sauce!

Ole!















Chipotle Tomatillo-Serrano Sauce
Makes 3 cups.

1 lb tomatillos, husked and diced
6 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
1/4 red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 chipotle chilies en adobo, chopped
juice of one lime
1 cup fresh cilantro, shredded
cumin
dash dried basil
salt
2 tbsp seasoned brown rice vinegar
1/2 cup water

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 5 more minutes.

Transfer everything to a food processor and blend until very smooth, this is a thin sauce. Add the liquid in batches.

This sauce will last about a week in the fridge and it freezes well.

Spicy Lentil Burritos
1 cup green lentils, cooked
1 seasoned roasted yam
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped fine
4 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and minced
2 small yellow crookneck squash, cubed
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 red onion, minced
cumin
Mexican oregano
ground coriander
paprika
salt

tortillas
Chipotle Tomatillo-Serrano Sauce
Guacamole

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a medium sauce pan. Add the peppers, onion, garlic and squash and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until veggies are soft, adding more water if necessary along the way. Once cooked, drain any additional water and transfer to a large bowl.

Combine lentils, veggies and spices in the bowl.

Layer lentil mixture, seasoned roasted yams and chipotle tomatillo-serrano sauce in a warmed tortillas. Roll up and fry if desired.

Top with guacamole.

Lentils are really good in Mexican, it's a nice change up from beans.

'Til next time.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, this looks really good. I made my baked chimis again last night, but was thinking about how I should have tried one of your recipes instead. This one makes it really hard to choose which one...

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Oooh, spicy-lentil burritos... sounds fantastic! Glad that even Brett liked them too!

Alicia said...

Your sauces are really impressive!
I love lentils, I don't feel bloated like with beans!

Bianca said...

I love all these lentil dishes you've been making. My upstairs neighbor just gave me 5 bags of lentils because someone gave them to her and she doesn't like them...so I'm loving all these creative lentil ideas.

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

another amazing recipe, Jennifer! you are my mexican queen! come to LA and lets feast. I'll bring the cacti!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

chipotle is soooo good!

Anonymous said...

mmm... i'd love to have some, please? i'm craving mexican for dinner tonight.

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

chipotles in adobo are one of my favorites. I haven't cooked with tomatillos yet but just noticed them in the grocery store this week! Your sauce looks great.

jessy said...

oh yes - i would love to learn about canning. what a wonderful idea! making your own sauces and salsas is so smart - and better tasting = awesome!! not having to rely on the store to carry them would be really nice, too. i'm going to have to look into this! and start making some of the sauces you create! yay!

J said...

Ve*ganChick - I would LOVE to have your baked chimis any day. I think I'm going to try baking my burritos next time to see how they turn out. :-)

Veggie Girl - I love using lentils in Mexican, they work so well! I was super happy that Brett liked these as well.

Alice - Thanks so much! A lot of people have that problem with beans, I luckily do not, but I've been a bean eater all my life and I read that the more you eat them, the less they bother you.

Bianca - Lentils are a new found love to me, I've really been using them a lot lately. She didn't want 5 bags of lentils?! Crazy! I can't wait to see what you come up with for them.

Happy Herbivore - Thanks so much! You are my cupcake/muffin/any flippin' fat free thing a girl could ever desire QUEEN! I think that's a fair deal!

Pleasantly - I know! I love it too!

Stonielove - Hehehe! I can't wait to see what Mexican yum yums you come up with!

Lisa - Chipotles in adobo take the meal to another level. I love tomatillos, I use them especially when regular tomatoes aren't in season (and even when they are), they have an excellent flavor and make great sauces. Thanks!

Jessy - I've never done it before, so it's going to be a learning experience. It seems like it would be nice to spend a few days in the fall preparing all sorts of sauces, salsas, pickling things, drying things, etc, to last the winter. :-)

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