Vegan Sweet Potato & Bean Burritos

I love this recipe, and we have made it many times! Sweet, spicy, fresh, and delicious, not to mention lower in fat. The title of this post leaves out the "Black Bean" in the original recipe simply because when I made them this last time I used a combination of kidney beans and garbanzos instead, with great results.

This recipe makes A LOT of burrito mixture! Two of us eat two burritos each per meal with plenty of filling, and we get 3 meals easily from one recipe.

Experience in making this recipe has led me to make some of my own modifications to better meet our taste preferences. You'll see my changes in italics beside each recipe ingredient and in the Notes section after the cooking directions.

The biggest modification I make is significantly reducing the amount of cumin and coriander called for. I love cumin, but I find the 4 tsp called for is too much and reduce it by 1 tsp. Additionally, I find the 4 tsp of coriander the recipe calls for to be overpowering, and find it adds a strong perfumey taste. I reduce the 4tsp in the recipe to 1 tsp with satisfactory results. Lastly, I almost always end up adding an additional 1-2 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice to the burrito mixture at the very end of the recipe, after the bean and potatoes are mixed in with the onion-spice blend.





Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos
from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat [Vegetarian] Favorites


5 c peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
2 tsp canola or other vegetable oil (I used olive.)
3 1/2 c diced onions
4 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tbsp minced fresh green chile
4 tsp ground cumin (I used 3 tsp., reducing by 1 tsp.)
4 tsp ground coriander (I used 1 tsp., reducing by 3 tsp.)
4 1/2 c cooked black beans (three 15-oz. cans, drained) (Make sure to rinse, too.)
2/3 c lightly packed cilantro leaves (plus additional chopped for topping)
2 tbsp lemon juice (Fresh is best. I added an additional 2 tbsp at end.)
1 tsp salt
8 eight-inch flour tortillas
Fresh tomato salsa





1. Preheat oven to 350 OR 300 degrees F (see "my notes" below).

2. Place sweet potatoes in pot with water to cover. Cover and bring to boil. Simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

3. While the sweet potatoes are cooking, warm the oil in a medium skillet or saucepan and add the onions, garlic and chiles. Cover and cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender, about 7 minutes. Add the cumin and coriander and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4. In a food processor, combine the black beans, cilantro, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, salt, and cooked sweet potatoes and puree until smooth. (You can also mash the ingredients in a large bowl by hand using a potato masher. The result will be a less smooth but nicely textured filling.) Transfer the sweet potato mixture to a large mixing bowl and mix in the cooked onions and spices.

5. Lightly oil a large baking dish. Spoon about 2/3 to 3/4 cup of the filling in the center of each tortilla, roll it up, and place it, seam side down, in the baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 30 minutes, until piping hot. Serve topped with salsa.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings


MY NOTES:
Rather than baking these as called for in step 5, I do the following:

In step 4, I add the bean-potato mixture to the skillet with the cooked onions and spices and reheat entire mixture over low heat. This is when I add the extra lemon juice and adjust spices, adding pepper and additional salt, if needed.

While the mixture is heating in the skillet, I toss the tortillas onto the top rack of the oven for several minutes, preheated to 300 degrees F. Remove when warm and set aside.

When mixture is hot and tortillas are warmed, add mixture to each tortilla and top with fresh additions like:
chopped fresh cilantro, avocado slices, fresh tomato chunks, salsa, vegan (or dairy) sour cream or plain soy yogurt (adds the zing and creaminess of sour cream with lower fat), vegan cheeze or dairy cheddar

Enjoy! :)