Chipotle Mexican Burrito Bowl

The only fast-food restaurant that I will eat at is Chipotle Mexican Grill.  I can order a delicious vegan burrito or salad and I feel like I'm eating healthy.  Here's my version of their burrito bowl. 

This salad has a lot of components to it, but you can choose to make whatever components you like.  Also, you can purchase the roasted tomato salsa, and use canned beans if you're in a hurry.

Rice:  

• You can use white basmati rice, but I used a multi-grain rice made up of brown and red basmati, black barley, red radish and wild rice.  Every time that I purchase a different kind of rice in the bulk section of the grocery store, whatever is leftover goes in the container and mixed together.  It's healthy, nutty, crunchy and nutritious.
• When you cook rice, use a 2:1 water to rice ratio.  For this dish, I used 1 cup of rice and cooked it for 35 minutes on medium-low and then let it sit for 10 minutes covered off the heat.
• Mix in 1 tbsp minced cilantro and the juice of a 1/2 lemon and salt and pepper to taste, keep covered and set aside.

Black Beans:

• I always use dried beans when I cook, but you can use canned (rinsed well) if you don't have time.  You don't need to soak the beans overnight before cooking. 
• Add 1 cup of beans to a 3qt sauce pan, cover with lots of water, add 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp chili powder and 1 bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, reduce to medium-low and simmer for about an hour until tender.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Roasted Tomato Salsa:

5 large Roma tomatoes (stems removed)
2 tomatillos (optional) peeled and rinsed (stems removed)
1 medium jalapeno pepper (stem removed)
2 1/4" slices red onion
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chipotle powder or 1 tsp of chipotle adobo sauce (depending on how much heat you like)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tbsp minced cilantro

Method:

• Preheat broiler to 450-500.  Please tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeno and red onion on a sheet tray and broil until charred on all sides.  Keep an eye on the vegges because they will char at different times.  The tomatoes will take the longest, but the onion will char quickly.  You definitely don't want everything burned to a crisp!
• Let vegges cool to room temperature and pulse in a blender.  Do not peel them before blending.  Add seasonings, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, and pulse again.
• Add salsa to a bowl, stir in minced cilantro and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour for flavors to blend and salsa to chill.

Sweet Corn-Poblano Salsa:

In the summer when corn is in season, I would use two ears of fresh corn, roasted on the grill and then remove the kernels from the cob.  However, for this recipe I used frozen corn kernels instead.
 
2 cups frozen organic yellow or white corn, thawed
1 medium poblano chili, roasted, skin removed and finely diced (If you make the salsa from scratch then place this on the same sheet tray under the broiler when you're roasting the other veggies.)
1/2 medium jalapeno, seeds removed and finely minced
1/4 cup red onion, finely minced
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp minced cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour for flavors to combine.

Guacamole:

1 large ripe Hass avocado
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Juice of 1 lime
1-2 tsp minced cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Peel, remove seed and mash avocado with a fork in a bowl.
• Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Chill until ready to use.

Sauteed Onions & Green Peppers:

1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp canola oil

Method:

• Heat a saute pan on medium heat, add canola oil, onions, green peppers and oregano.

• Saute on medium until slightly soft and lightly charred.  Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. 

Last but not least, shred some romaine lettuce, pile it all on a plate starting with the rice and ending with the salsa!  A great combination of flavors and textures...just delicious!