1. Seriously, we need to find something else to do with flat breads, the sharwarma thing is beginning to bore me. There's really not that much in there even when you do it the full-on Lebanese style. Love sharwarmas, don't get me wrong but we just need diversity is all I'm saying.
2. There's rice in there, need I say more?
3. If we also start making the gigantic sized tortillas usually used for burritos so we don't have to use those relatively tiny 'shawarma breads' and get those filled up Chipotle-style; even those big bowl of fufu in the morning guys who are always saying, '...but this is not food...' will be like, '...give me 2 hours let me make some space before you bring the fufu...'. Hell, they may even decide they can wait till the next meal-time. It's that big and filling.
Anyway, it's an idea. Meanwhile let me do my show and tell on how I try to make my copycat burrito for myself during this period of separation. I think I've been copying very well if I do say so myself.
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| Not as big as I'd like but I make do with what I've got bread-wise. Praying for large Ortega's tortillas here. |
Ingredients and Prepping (Makes 8 burritos using the normal sized sharwarma bread).
The thing with burritos is that the time is all in the chopping and prepping, there are so many little dishes that need to be made that get wrapped up in the bread and they all need to be left to mix with each other in the fridge for at least 4 hours, 24 hour's even better. However, there is actually very little cooking involved so at least you get minimal sweating for your trouble.
So the dishes are - Pico de Gallo (Burritos are originally Mexican so lots of the names are Spanish), Grated Cheddar Cheese, Corn Salsa, Hot red Salsa/ Salsa Roja, Guacamole, Grilled Steak, Chopped Lettuce, Lime rice, and if you decide to make the bread yourself too then that's another one. My cousin sent me a good recipe for that here and I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it turned out, and that I could just use a frying pan. But I think in the long run I may just stick to buying bread unless I want to make my own bread wholewheat or gluten-free or something.
Also, there are other fairly major components of the burrito - beans, sour cream and Salsa Verde (green salsa) - but I don't like the first, the second makes it less spicy *shudder* and the last I never tried because I always just got the hot salsa and besides I don't think we have one of the main ingredients here - tomatillos. But go ahead and add them too if they sound good to you.
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| Pico De Gallo. Try and get tomatoes redder than mine. |
1. Pico De Gallo
4 medium tomatoes (diced)
1 cup finely diced onions (about 1 medium onion)
1 pepper (seeded and chopped small) and more if you can handle heat well or less otherwise
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley (about 1 bunch)
1 tablespoon lime juice or juice of one lime.
Mix tomatoes and onions, toss with 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1/8 tsp salt and the cilantro. Place in fridge for a least 4 hours before use for best results.
2. Grated Pepper Jack/ Monterey Jack/ Cheddar Cheese - Get cheese, grate into bowl, set aside. End of story.
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| Corn Salsa |
3. Corn Salsa
1 400g tin of sweet corn (like the basic Heinz tin or I think 2 or 3 cobs of corn should do the trick)
2 hot peppers (more or less)
1/2 of a medium onion
1 chopped bunch of parsley/cilantro
Juice of two limes
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper powder
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and place in the fridge. Though you may want to warm it in the microwave a couple minutes first, they say the sweet corn is edible straight out the can but I'm not a fan.
4. Hot Salsa
4 tomatoes (peeled and seeded)
1/4 cup onion or about 1/4 of a medium onion
3 teaspoons of chilli powder
1 tablespoon of lemon juice or juice of one lemon
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 peppers (or as usual...)
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon oil
Blend all the ingredients for the hot salsa, adding water if the blender needs it. A food processor is better to avoid adding water. But if the sauce ends up watery, no problem. Just cook it in the microwave for about 10 minutes or more. Or cook it on the stovepot. Keep warming until it's thick like stew (stereotypically speaking, more like the tasty Yoruba kind than the watery Igbo kind lol, stereotypically I said!). I even prefer when it's cooked a bit.
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| Guacamole |
5. Guacamole
1 large ripe avocado
1/4 cup diced tomatoes or about 2 tomatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped onions or about 1/4 of a medium onion.
2 finely chopped peppers (again as usual...)
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
Mash the avocado with a spoon and keep mixing to get rid of as many lumps as possible, some will remain. Add all the other ingredients and enjoy. To preserve, cover the 'guac' with clingfilm right on its surface to keep it green for longer.
I really love guacamole, just had to throw that out there. It's good for snacking too, just heat your flatbread in the microwave for 2 minutes and when you take it out and let it cool, you'll see it has hardened. Just break pieces off and dip in the guacamole for 'chips and dip'. Yum! You can actually use any of these - pico de gallo, corn salsa, hot salsa, even the cheese (melted) as dip but guacamole is just the best. If you can find a bag of Tostito's tortilla chips, then you're made for a week's worth of snacking (let me pretend I can't finish a whole bag in a day)
6. Grilled Steak (Very important part as this is the only reason I can put the burrito on here, there's no other baking/grilling otherwise. But the burritos is still just as yummy without the meat for vegetarians and hopeful vegetarians out there)
Two medium size steaks or just about 300g of beef (steak or otherwise, I think about N500 worth of beef at the market should be enough)
2 hot pepper (as usual...)
1 tablespoon chilli pepper powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic (grated)
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
Blend all the ingredients apart from the steak. Don't be afraid to add water, watery marinades are even better. Place the marinade with the steak in a bowl and wrap up or better still, in a ziploc bag like below. Leave in the fridge for up to 24 hours (red meat doesn't spoil as fast as chicken so if you're using chicken instead then don't marinade more than overnight).
Take out the steaks and place on greased aluminium foil on a baking pan. Preheat grill to 205 degrees c (400 degrees f). Grease both sides of the meat by rubbing oil or spraying with oil spray. Then cover the meat with the marinade to baste. Grill the meat about 5 minutes on both sides. Taste to make sure it's just right for you. When it's ready, take the meat out of the oven and wrap in aluminium foil and let sit for 5 minutes. Then take out the meat and chop into tiny pieces about 1/2 inch wide.
7. Chopped Lettuce - Another easy one. Wash 2 bunches of lettuce leaves and soak in salt, baking soda or whatever you use. Drain and chop into thin strips. Put in bowl, cover and place in the fridge.
8. Lime Rice
2 cups rice
1 tablespoon coconut oil, butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lime or juice of one lime
2 tablespoons cilantro/parsley (about one bunch)
Boil the rice to stay firm and seperated not soggy or joined up. When cooked add the oil/margarine, lime juice and cilantro. You should have added the salt during cooking.
Once that's all done, you're pretty much good to go. Just warm your flatbread (about 30 seconds in a microwave, 2 minutes in a frying pan on medium) and pile on the goodies like so...
To me, the ideal order is - rice, meat, cheese, hot salsa, corn salsa, pico de gallo, lettuce and top off with guacamole.
The best way to wrap the flatbread is to first place it on a plate, fold in the side directly in front of you, Fold in the right and left sides next then roll it up away from you as tight as possible like you're rolling up a rug, but this works best for the large flexible tortilla. Doesn't always work so great with the sharwarma bread but just place the bread on foil paper and wrap it up in the paper along with the bread so that you can unwrap the paper as you work your way down. Things can get pretty messy otherwise.
Also, you've probably noted that raw onions are pretty much the second most important ingredient on here (after the limes) so just remember to plan for the smells accordingly. You know how onions and garlic do lol. You can also reduce the onions if you want but as I love onions I can't even consider that. I just add baking soda to my toothpaste and keep brushing away like they are chasing me. Then you may continue with your loud talking, kissing, roaring yawns and the like ;)
Finally, since the ingredients are split up among the different dishes, here's the full shopping list -
300g beef steak
About 10 large tomatoes
3 medium onion
5 cloves garlic
7 hot peppers
3 bunches cilantro/parsley
2 bunches lettuce
200g Cheddar/Monterey Jack/Pepper Jack cheese
6 limes
1 lemon
1 large avocado
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons of chilli pepper powder
2 teaspoons of dried oregano
3 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1 tablespoon margarine/butter (optional)
2 cups rice
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