Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

After the brunchtime porkapalooza we experienced on Sunday, you’d think a weeklong moratorium on meat wouldn’t be unwelcome. Halfway through this delightful, nutrient-packed burrito, we both agreed a little pulled pork would be exquisite, tucked cozily between sweet potatoes and savory black beans. Not that I mind rocking a vegetarian burrito for dinner, on occasion. It is so reminiscent to me of being a starving student in Allston, Mass in 1998, when I lived in an apartment full of crazy, smart, strange girls and boys. There was a lot of electronic music, a lot of art on the walls, a lot of pretentious dialogue, and very little money. You don’t have to be a vegetarian, a communist, or a Wiccan to enjoy these sweet burritos. But it doesn’t hurt.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos
Makes 3

Ingredients:

For the burrito:

• 2 sweet potatoes, mashed
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• Kosher salt
• Flour tortillas
• Monterey Jack cheese
• Sour cream
• Hot sauce, e.g., Cholula, Valentina, El Yucateco

For the roasted vegetable salsa:

• 2 poblano peppers, stripped of seeds and roughly chopped
• 1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 a large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (optional)

Method:

For the roasted vegetable salsa:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl combine poblanos, tomatoes, onion, vegetable oil, salt and cumin seeds. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 35 minutes, stirring at the halfway point. Transfer to a food processor and pulse the mixture to a chunky consistency. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the burrito:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine vegetable oil, garlic, and onion in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until softened, add black beans and season to taste with salt. Place tortillas on a baking sheet and spoon filling onto each: sweet potato, black beans, roasted vegetable salsa, cheese. Fold into packages. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream and hot sauce.

Tagged as: beans, mexican, salsa, thanksgiving leftovers, vegetarian

About the Author: Jillian Bedell

Jillian grew up in Connecticut, went to university in Boston, college in New Haven, did some post-grad soul searching in New York, exiled herself to Mexico, married her longtime sweetheart, and lived in a house on the ocean. She suspected Maine might be the perfect place to raise a family, so she came back home to New England two years ago. Now a mom to Violet Maeve and living in Rockland, where she hopes to settle for a good, long while, Jillian reads, writes, walks, and practices Nia, when not watching Malcolm photograph sandwiches.