Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Ninja burritos!

Yeah, the ninja (my husband) loves these. The filling is different every time, but I get to feed him vegan and he cleans the plate. I like spicy, but he is sweats at anything hotter than black pepper, so I try to give it more flavor than spice.

Secret 1: fry the burrito-it's more like a quesadilla, but I don't always use cheese, so the queso part doesn't really apply. Ninjadilla?
Double secret 1: I make annatto oil by steeping 1TBS annatto with 1/2 cup corn oil. Put oil and annatto in fry pan and heat on medium until the annatto sizzles and remove promptly. I store it in a salad dressing bottle in the fridge. The corn oil stays liquid when refrigerated. The oil makes stuff like rice look really mexicanny and gives the tortilla a nice orangey color.

Secret 2: chipotle mayonnaise. Blend a little chipotle powder or a whole canned chipotle with a little veganaise. You're going to have to play with a blend that works for you according to your spice preference and potency of the chipotles you're using. Also works with vegan sour cream or yogurt, but I still prefer the mayo sauce. I don't think the ninja has any idea it's mayo. Smoky, spicy, saucy goodness.

Today's filling was a big 'ole mess of stuff I had hanging around. I used some frozen sofrito, the rest of the filling from yesterday's jacket potatoes-roasted veggies, potatoes, and stuff, added about 1/4 block of extra firm tofu, and about 1/4 cup TVP that I seasoned with penzeys taco seasoning.

I like to use the cast iron skillet to fry the ninjadilla. Put in a little annatto oil to cover, place the tortilla on flat and cover with soy cheese if using (today I had follow your heart cheddar) then place filling on just one half. Once the tortilla is softened, fold in half and heat until crispy, then flip and let the other side crisp up.
Serve with a big dollop of chipotle mayo and enjoy. Mexican rice and beans go well with this, and/or can be used in the filling.

7 comments:

Jemima said...

awesome burritos! i wish i could get my dad and brother to eat more veggie food.. i think they have a psychological condition where unless they've had meat, they don't think they've eaten anything. boys! another lovely post :) xxx

Alexandra (lean and strong) said...

You were so right about the gluten! It was a terrible experience. If I ever try it again I will take your advice for sure...it was such a failure it might be a while till I re-attempt!

Your burrito looks AMAZING.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

I love Ninja anything!

jessy said...

now i'm drooling onto my keyboard! oh my goodness! your ninjadilla looks AMAZINGLY awesome!

totally gonna look into some annatto, too! i've never heard of it before - that's so cool!

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

Ninjadillas! What a great idea! I get kind of sick of tortillas, but everything is better fried! Right?

For the Love of Guava said...

Hey found you through Miss Snowy Vegan!!! NINJADILLA... love it... I basically versions of NINJADILLAS everyday for breakfast!

the little one said...

Nija burritos! Hah! That's a great name.