Frito Pie Burritos
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
- 1 pound 80% lean ground beef
- Salt and pepper
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons (2/3 palmful) ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons (2/3 palmful) ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) Mexican oregano, lightly crushed
- 1 rounded tablespoon chili powder, such as Gebhardt’s
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock
- 3 tablespoons Masa Harina or cornmeal
- 1 14-ounce can pinto or red kidney beans, drained
- 1 14-ounce can Ro-Tel or other diced tomatoes with green chilies
- For the Green Rice (optional, serve with white rice if you choose):
- 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 1 cup white rice, such as Texmati
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 pound fresh spinach
- A handful of cilantro
- 1 lime
- For the Queso Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 fresh jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeded and chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 1 rounded tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 4 ounces (half a large brick) cream cheese
- 1/2 pound smoked yellow cheddar or smoked Gouda, rind trimmed and shredded (2 cups)
- 1 cup sharp yellow cheddar, shredded
- 1 4-ounce can green chilies, well*drained
- 1 rounded tablespoon yellow French’s mustard
- 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1/2 small red onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
- Small handful cilantro, finely chopped
- Salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 avocado
- Juice of 1 small lime
- 4 large (12- to 14-inch) flour tortillas
- 4 1-ounce packs Fritos brand corn chips
- Pickled, sliced jalapeño peppers
For chili, heat oil, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat in cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. Brown meat, season with salt and pepper. Add onions, garlic, spices, Worcestershire and cook a few minutes to soften onions, stirring frequently. Add tomato paste, stir 1 minute until fragrant. In a small bowl, whisk together stock and Masa or cornmeal. Add to chili along with beans and tomatoes with chilies. Bring to a bubble then reduce heat to a simmer to thicken.
For rice, bring broth to a boil. Add oil or butter, and rice, and season with salt and pepper. Cook 15 minutes. Finely chop spinach and cilantro with lime juice in a food processor. (Return processor bowl to base for the Avo-Sour Cream.) Add greens to rice, remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes.
For Pico, toss together tomatoes, onions, jalapeño or Serrano, cilantro and salt to taste.
For Avo-Sour Cream, add avocado, sour cream and lime juice to the food processor and pulse to combine.
Char tortillas 30-45 seconds on each side over an open flame on a gas burner or in hot, dry skillet on an electric stove.
Working down the center of the tortillas, leaving 1 1/2 to 2 inches at either end to edge, build burritos with some pickled jalapeños, avocado cream, pico, Fritos, queso sauce, beef chili and rice. Tuck in tortilla top and bottom then rotate burrito a quarter turn and wrap and roll sides. Cut in half to serve.