I realize these look more like tacos than burritos, but sometimes you have a slight recipe fail and with my time running short these days I just went with it. I say slight, because they tasted delicious, they just didn’t exactly wrap up easily like the wheat flour tortillas I’ve made in the past.

I was trying to make gluten free tortillas for the first time. I saw Shauna’s recipe and thought they looked pretty good, but not wanting to hunt down psyllium husk I thought I could do without. That was my mistake, I think the psyllium husk must be what gives the soft dough more of a pliable texture that holds together when rolled. I used an equal mixture of brown rice flour and millet flour and butter instead of shortening. When it comes to gluten free baking, I should leave it to an expert and not mess with the recipe at all!

These greens ‘n beans burritos were my pick for this weeks Food Matters Project. When searching for a recipe from the book, I kept coming back to possibilities that seemed to easily lend themselves to endless variations. It’s been fun seeing what people come up with each week and burritos seem to be one of those options that veggies and meat eaters can all agree on; I love those perfect cross-over meals. Plus there’s always beans/lentils and greens of some sort in my kitchen, so I new these would be something I’d enjoy and something potentially seasonal for everyone too.

For the filling mixture I stuck pretty close to Bittman’s recipe, but used half kale and half collard greens, added 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. At the end I topped it with fresh cilantro and avocado. Salsa or pico de gallo would make a great topper too.

Beans ‘n Greens Burrito / serves 4
Recipe from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman

4 large or 8 small whole wheat flour tortillas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chili powder
salt and black pepper
1 bunch kale (about 1 pound), roughly chopped
2 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained, liquid reserved
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese, optional

1. Heat the oven to 300F. Stack the tortillas and roll them up in a sheet of foil. Put them in the oven to warm while you cook the filling.

2. Put the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the onion and garlic and cook stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to color, 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with the chili powder and salt and pepper. Add the kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until it wilts and releases it’s liquid, about 5 minutes. Stir in the black beans; mash them up a bit with a fork or potato masher and add the reserved liquid if the mixture seems dry.

3. To roll each burrito, lay a tortilla on a flat surface and put 1/4 of the filling (or 1/8 if you’re using small tortillas) on the third closest to you. Sprinkle with some of the cheese if you’re using it. Fold the tortilla over from the bottom to cover the beans and greens, then fold in the 2 sides to fully enclose them; finish rolling and put the burrito seem side down on a plate. Serve with pico de gallo on the side.

Variations:
Cannellini Beans, escarole, and Parmesan
Chickpeas, chard, and smoked paprika
Pinto beans, cabbage, and chipotle
Green lentils, spinach, and tarragon
Edamame, bok choy, and soy sauce
8oz. cooked chorizo, chopped ham, sausage, or ground meat