Black Bean, Brown Rice, and Red Chile-Sweet Potato Burritos

Happy Election Day! I hope all our readers from the US go out and cast their votes today!

I thought some of the readers of this blog might be starting to wonder where all the Mexican food was. Don't worry, we've been having plenty of it, we've just been having some of our "tried and true" meals lately while some of the yummies of the growing season are still around. I have all sorts of ideas on how to "Mexicanize" a lot of the local food we put up for winter - I'm pretty excited about that.

This meal was really good, albeit, with the sauce, it is a little involved, so this probably isn't a weeknight meal (unless the sauce is already made, then this would be a 45 minutes or less meal). The sauce that I used for the potatoes, Chile Colorado, is often also used as an enchilada sauce. I really like the way the semi-spiciness of the sauce complemented the sweet potatoes, and they managed to get a nice glaze too.

The sauce isn't really all that spicy, at least not to me. New Mexican Chiles are very mild, so if you don't like things spicy, omit the cayennes and just use the New Mexican Chiles. The pepper and onion studded beans, some plain brown rice, and Chile Colorado smothered roasted sweet potatoes came together to make one of those meals where there isn't a whole lot of talkin' just a lot of shoveling food into one's face. Not a pretty sight I'm sure, but it lets you know that we really liked this.

The local booty legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = The Root Cellar
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms















Chile Colorado
Makes about 3 cups.
Adapted from this recipe at Pepper Fool.

3 oz. dried New Mexican Chiles, washed, stems removed and seeds discarded (I saved them to plant next year, it is how I got the seeds for the plant we had this year)
3-5 dried long red cayenne peppers, washed, stems removed and seeds discarded ***
3 cups of boiling water
1 vidalia onion, cut in half *
2 cloves of garlic, peeled *
a few dashes of Mexican oregano
a few dashes of cumin
a pinch of salt

Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer on low for about an hour. Make sure to add water if needed throughout the process to keep the chiles covered.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Puree in a food processor until well blended.

Some people will then strain the sauce for a smooth sauce, but we don't mind a little chunkiness so we just ate it as is.

Black Bean, Rice, and Red Chile-Sweet Potato Burritos
2 cups of black beans, cooked ****
1/2 cup long grain brown rice, cooked ****
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced *
1 red bell pepper, seeded and minced *
2 cloves of garlic, minced *
1 small yellow onion, minced **
cumin
ground coriander
black pepper
salt

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the mushrooms, peppers, garlic and onion. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until veggies soft. Drain any excess water.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.

Red Chile Potatoes:
safflower (or other) oil in a mister
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed *
1 cup Chile Colorado * and ***

Preheat oven to 425.

Spray a baking dish with oil.

Combine all ingredients, cover with foil, and roast for 30-35 minutes or until potatoes soft.

Layer potatoes, beans, and rice in warmed tortillas. Fry if desired.

Oh my Mexican yumminess - so, so good. Thankfully, I have 2 cups of Chile Colorado frozen now, so we'll be able to enjoy this over winter as well. Wahoo.

'Til next time!