Eating out is a great solution. I don't have to do anything: there are no dishes to clean, no onions to cut, nothing. I just sit there and let people feed me. I don't have to make any decisions: okay, I have to make one or two, but it's from such a limited subset of foods in existence that I can manage. I don't have to taste the things I create: someone else cooks! Presumably, someone who is good at cooking (how else could the restaurant stay afloat?).
Now, I've often said that if I could make restaurant-grade food, I would be much more inclined to eat at home. That one's a catch-22, because I'm basically saying that if I were good at a thing, I'd do the thing all the time, but I refuse to practice the thing. I was pretty set in that way for a while until the internet called my bluff and posted the recipe for a local restaurant's chickpea chili burrito. Not wanting to be bested by the internet, I tried it out.
Chickpea Chili Burritos
Yield: Yield: 4 servings
12-in. flour tortillas 4
Mexican Rice (recipe follows) 1 cup
Chickpea Chili (recipe follows 1 cup
Monterey Jack cheese, grated 1½ cups
Sour cream to garnish
Guacamole to garnish
Salsa to garnish
1. Steam tortillas for 10 seconds to heat.
2. Lay tortillas flat; place ¼ cup Mexican rice halfway between center and end.
3. Top rice with ¼ cup Chickpea Chili and cheese to taste.
4. Roll burrito halfway, then fold in sides like an envelope and finish rolling.
5. Serve with sour cream, guacamole and salsa.
Mexican Rice
Yield: Yield: 3 cups
Olive oil 2 Tbsp.
Carrot, grated ¼ cup
Onion, grated ¼ cup
White rice 2 cups
Tomato juice 1 cup
Kosher salt 1 Tbsp.
Black pepper, freshly ground 1 Tbsp.
Bay leaf 1
1. Heat oil in warm saucepan over medium heat until moderately hot; add carrot and onion. Sauté briefly; stir in rice.
2. Add tomato juice, salt, pepper and bay leaf; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf; reserve.
Chickpea Chili
Yield: Yield: about 6½ cups
Fresh tomatillos, husked 2 lb.
White onion, ½-in. dice ½ cup
Olive oil ¼ cup
Jalapeño peppers, stems remove 2
Garlic cloves 4
Kosher salt 2 tsp.
Canned chickpeas, drained and 32 oz.
Cilantro, chopped 2 Tbsp.
Black pepper, freshly ground 1 Tbsp.
1. Place tomatillos in heavy pan with onion, olive oil, jalapeños, garlic and salt; roast at 500F until soft and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Remove tomatillo mixture from oven; purée in blender or processor until smooth. Pour puréed mixture through fine-mesh strainer into saucepan.
3. Add chickpeas to tomatillo purée; simmer 10 minutes over medium heat. Stir in cilantro and pepper.
Five out of five stars. This thing was the shit and I will happily launch the leftovers down my throat. Other restaurants around town: please follow this restaurant's lead and slowly put yourselves out of business. Mmmmmmmmm!
