Black Bean Burritos
Mexican food is really popular around Sydney right now and I’m not surprised as I think it is really interesting and very tasty.
Mexican food can be healthy, but you need to choose well.
The traditional Mexican diet is based on beans, corn and chillies along with various other herbs and spices. It is full of fibre, low fat, low GI and full of antioxidants from the chillies, herbs and spices.
The Westernised version of Mexican food however, includes more fat from sour cream, cheese, meat and some of the dishes that are deep fried. You have to be very careful with what you choose when dining out if you want to eat healthy.
Many people shy away from Mexican food as they think it is all too hot and spicy. The beauty about making it yourself means that you can moderate the amount of spice, or chillies you use to suit your palate. You can also moderate the amount of fat you include!
Mexican food is really quick and easy to prepare at home, especially if you are using tinned beans and these burritos are a good example of that.
The filling can be made several days ahead of time allowing the flavours to develop and deepen. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen and reheated. However if you want to make it fresh on the night, it will still be very tasty.
I love meals like these where you put all the ingredients in the middle of the table and everyone helps themselves to construct their own version. No knives or forks are needed either, just your hands and plenty of paper towel or napkins.
Best of all, they taste delicious!
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ large red chilli, deseeded and chopped
- 1 red capsicum, julienned
- 1 green capsicum, julienned
- 1 yellow capsicum, julienned
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 x 400g can diced tomatoes
- 1 x 400g can black beans, drained and rinsed (see notes below if you want to use dry beans)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
- 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
- ½ lime, juiced
- ½ cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
- To Serve:
- 4 Barley wraps
- 8-10 cherry tomatoes
- 50g low fat fetta cheese, thinly sliced
- 2-3 cups lettuce, shredded
- Sweet chilli sauce
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add oil and onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until onion has softened
- Add garlic, chilli, capsicums, oregano and cumin and sauté for 10 minutes
- Add tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes
- Add the tinned tomatoes, rinse out the empty tomato tin with about 1/2 cup of water and add it to the mix, then add the beans, vegetable stock powder and cacao powder
- Bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes to allow all the flavours to infuse
- When cooked, turn heat off, add lime juice and coriander and stir through
- Serve immediately or allow to cool and refrigerate or freeze until needed
- To Serve:
- Warm tortilla wraps (I microwaved them for 20 seconds each), then spoon about 2/3 cup of bean mix along the centre of each wrap
- Top with feta cheese, tomato, and lettuce
- Drizzle with a little sweet chilli sauce then roll up...yum!
If you are using dried beans:
- Measure out 1/2 cup black beans and soak them overnight in plenty of water
- The following day, drain and rinse
- Place beans in a large saucepan with 4 cups of water and bring to boil
- Lower heat to simmer and cook for 45 minutes to one hour
- Alternatively, cook them in a pressure cooker for approximately 10 minutes
Per Serve (filling only): 436kJ or 104 calories P 5g Fat 2.5g SFat 0.6g CHO 12g Fibre 7g
Per Wrap: 1070kJ or 255 calories P 14g Fat 7g SFat 3g CHO 25g Fibre 18g
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