Catfish Out of Water

This is a very quintessential burrito. With black beans and brown rice? There is nothing more classic in burrito form. The Slow Cooker Black Beans are flavored with calabaza squash and homegrown habaneros. And the Brown Rice is packed with calabaza squash and homegrown Anaheim peppers. Which gives a fun flare and a little bit of heat to the burrito! The real wild card in this black bean burrito is the Avocado Dip w/ Japanese Eggplant & Tahini.

The other day I ended up with a Japanese eggplant. I don't ordinarily cook with eggplant. They have a taste and texture similar to mushrooms wrapped in a waxy skin. It's a very earthy taste that, when puréed, almost has a nutty consistency. One of my favorite ways to eat them is to make baba ghanoush. Since I'd been making various forms of Avocado Dip lately, which is kind of a cross between guacamole and hummus, it almost immediately dawned on me that I was probably going to make avocado dip with this Japanese eggplant!

The cross between baba ghanoush and guacamole is quite delicious and works incredibly well with burritos. The dip has such a subtle, delicate flavor, that it pairs well with the creaminess of the calabaza squash in the black beans and brown rice. It also perfectly balances out the heat from the peppers.

I may be mixing culinary genres here. But, as long as the final dish is this delicious? I'm absolutely going to keep doing it!

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Variations of Black Bean Burrito

I make plenty of off the beat burritos. I'm quite fond of just throwing absolutely everything that I have in the refrigerator into a tortilla and calling it a day! But black beans are a classic ingredient. And you can always add your own personal flare to the seasonings and other toppings. Or keep it simple with your own concoction of black beans and rice.

Burrito w/ Black Beans, Brown Rice, & Fried Tofu

This black bean burrito contains calabaza squash beans and rice with homegrown habaneros and Anaheim peppers with Japanese eggplant avocado dip. I've added in some garlic, red onions, and an array of cumin, coriander, and bay leaves to season. Although feel free to mix and match in your own fresh produce and spices to taste. Black beans and brown rice are staple recipes that are fun to play around with. You can just as easily use butternut squash, pumpkin, jalapeños, or whatever you have on hand to adjust the heat and flavor profile.

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Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Latin American

Servings 1 serving

Equipment

• Skillet w/ Lid (Preferably Cast Iron)
• Stovetop

Ingredients

  

Black Beans

• 1 ½ c. calabaza squash roasted & puréed
• 1 ½ lbs. black beans ~3 cups
• 3 habaneros minced
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 red onion minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp. coriander
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 ½ c. water

Brown Rice

• 1/2 c. calabaza squash roasted & puréed
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 red onion diced
• 2 Anaheim peppers diced
• dash cumin
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1 c. brown rice
• 2 ½ c. water (or vegetable broth)

Avocado Dip

• 3 avocados
• 1 Japanese eggplant
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 limes juiceed
• 3/4 c. Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp. tahini
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• dash salt
• dash pepper

Burrito

• 1/4 c. black beans
• 1/4 c. brown rice
• 3 oz. tofu (~1/4 container per person)
• 1 tbsp. high heat oil
• 1 tortilla shell
• splash water
• dollop avocado dip (optional, omit or substitute for vegan recipe)
• dollop hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

 

Prepare Ingredients

• Slow Cooker Black Beans take 8 hours to cook. I recommend starting it the night before so that it cooks overnight or in the morning before going to work so that it's ready when you get home. It's also a good quick and easy recipe to start ahead of time and reheat later on.
• Cook Brown Rice w/ Calabaza Squash & Anaheim Peppers. This takes about an hour and requires a rice cooker or stove. You can also easily create a different flavor profile or utilize the produce that you have on hand. I almost always keep a batch of rice or quinoa in the fridge for exactly this purpose.
• I topped this with Avocado Dip w/ Japanese Eggplant & Tahini. This is entirely optional. You can easily substitute sour cream, Greek yogurt, or omit entirely. Although this avocado dip is my new favorite thing and I highly recommend giving it a try. It's kind of a mix between hummus and guacamole. And is absolutely delicious!

Fry Tofu

• Drain the tofu and cut in half if you're using a container. Wrap in paper towels to absorb the moisture.

  It's important to absorb as much water out of the tofu as you can. Oil is less dense than water, so the molecules repel one another. With cold ingredients, this causes separation. When you're frying, though, this can cause boiling hot oil to spray back at you.
• Meanwhile, preheat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
• When the skillet has preheated and the majority of the water has absorbed into the paper towels, carefully add the tofu to the skillet.
• Fry until golden brown. This should take about 2-4 minutes. Rotate until all sides are evenly fried.
• Remove from heat and wrap again in paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Cook Tortilla

• Preheat the pan on medium-high. If you aren't using cast iron, make sure to lightly oil the pan to prevent sticking.
• Wet both sides of the tortilla and add to the preheated pan. Cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the bottom begins to brown.
• Remove the tortilla from heat and turn the stove off. Add toppings, including the tofu, and fold the burrito.
• Turn the stove back up to medium and add the tortilla to the skillet immediately, before it preheats. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until the bottom begins to brown. Rotate until all sides are cooked.

  The first side will likely take longer to cook than the subsequent sides, which may toast in as little as 2 minutes. Adjust the temperature if it's cooking too quickly and burning or too slowly and cracking.
• Top with avocado dip and hot sauce of choice. I like to use Greek yogurt because it's oftentimes healthier than sour cream and this new avocado dip that I'm obsessed with is fantastic. Omit or substitute with a vegan alternative for an entirely animal-product free recipe.
• Serve immediately. You can reheat burritos by lightly wetting them and reheating, but they are never quite the same as they are fresh!

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• For a more in-depth article on preparing tofu, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Fried Tofu. High heat oil and a precise cooking temperature are important to keep the tofu from drying out or burning.
• For a more in-depth article on burritos, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Burritos. I highly suggest using cast iron and there is precise temperature that works best for cooking at that may vary slightly depending on your stovetop and type of skillet. If you're having trouble rolling the burrito without cracking, there are solutions for this as well.