Where to start to describe the joys of a good burrito? My first, and still the best, was in a no frills eatery on Mission Street in San Francisco. It’s simply a meal in a flour flatbread………and so much more. The original recipe is refried black beans, good grilled beef, salad and a spicy sauce, all wrapped in a light flour tortilla, the result being a divine mixture of flavours and textures.
Now that I no longer eat meat I thought I would have a try at using marinated mushrooms in place of the meat, and it worked rather well. It may seem a lot of work to make burritos at home, but if you cook the beans in advance you don’t have so much to do at once.
This is the first time that I have made flour tortillas, and they were so good and light that I will be making them regularly.

BLACK BEANS – use the chilli recipe in the previous post.

Rewarm the beans.

FLOUR TORTILLAS – this amount makes four tortillas of about 25 cm diameter

200 grams strong white flour

50 ml olive oil

good pinch of salt

125 ml hot water

Put the flour in a mixing bowl with the salt. Add the oil and mix thoroughly until the oil is evenly distributed in the flour.

Add the water bit by bit mixing throughly as you go along, adding it even more slowly as the mix starts to come together. You are aiming for a firm but pliable dough.

Knead the dough on a floured board for five minutes or so to get a smooth textured dough.

Divide the dough into four equal pieces then put it to rest covered in its mixing bowl for half an hour or so.

To cook the tortillas heat a flat iron griddle or a thick based frying pan.

Roll the tortillas into thin rounds and then cook dry until slightly golden on each side.

Wrap in a clean tea towel as each are cooked to keep them warm.

MARINATED MUSHROOMS – per person

65 grams strongly flavoured mushrooms – I used shiitake

pinch ground cumin

pinch ground coriander

pinch smoked paprika/pimenton

pinch salt

olive oil

Slice the mushrooms and put in a small bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well to coat the mushrooms evenly.

To cook, fry in olive oil until nicely browned.

THE SALAD

Tomato

cucumber

avocado – all cut into small cubes

teaspoon of finely chopped spring onion

shredded lettuce

fresh lime juice

Mix salad adding lime juice to taste.

SAUCE – if you want spicy use your favourite chilli sauce. If you are after mild to balance the spiciness of the beans in this case, the either sour cream or I made a cashew nut cream. There are many recipes for this on the Internet.

THE BURRITO

Lay out your warm tortilla on a piece of aluminium foil, put in the centre a line of the beans, then a line of the mushrooms, then the salad and finally a line of your chosen sauce. Using the foil to protect your fingers from the heat of the ingredients, roll up the burrito. The foil will keep the burrito warm while you make the rest.

Serve with pickled Jalapeño peppers and more sauce on the side.