I tried looking up the differences between burritos and enchiladas, but American influences (mainly California and Texas) have blurred the line between authentic and invented. On one question/answer site, a man stated they were invented in California because, "he's eaten so many of them there for the past 6 years"...ummm, ok. Authentic Mexican burritos are usually small and thin, with flour tortillas containing only one or two ingredients: some form of meat or fish, potatoes, rice, beans, asadero cheese, chile rajas, or chile relleno. Authentic Mexican enchiladas are rolled maize (corn) tortillas stuffed with meat, covered with a tomato and chili sauce; this food practice can be dated back to the time of the Mayans. Nowadays, burritos can be served up in a casserole dish, covered in cheese and sauce; or heated and browned on a grill as is to make it easier, and less messier, to walk around with. The tortillas for burritos are closed ended, enchiladas are open ended; fillings are basically "anything goes".
Usually the tortillas are long length after rolling, even for the burrito; mine became square shaped packets, not intentionally, just ended up that way. The taste, after complete cooking, was pretty awesome as is, but add a little sour cream and/or guacamole and they became exceptionally awesome! There were so many textures and flavors, and they all worked so well to enhance each other.
Enchi-burr-jitas
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 and ½ lbs. lean meat
(sirloin or London broil), cut into 1” strips
1 and ½ cups yellow bell
pepper, cut into 1” strips
1 and ½ cups onion, cut
into 1” strips
1 can (15 oz.) whole
kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 oz.) black
beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz.) diced
tomatoes, drained
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. dried, crushed
cilantro leaves
Pinch ground cayenne
pepper
12 (10”) flour tortillas
1 (14 oz.) can green chili
enchilada sauce (mild/medium)
Preparation:
In a large skillet, heat
oil on medium-high heat, partially brown meat strips; add bell pepper and
onion, continue to brown meat till no pink shows. Add in corn, black beans, tomatoes and all
seasonings; mix well and let cook 5 minutes before turning off heat.
Preheat oven to 350F; spray 2-4 quart baking dishes with nonstick cooking spray.
In center of each
tortilla, place one cup of meat/vegetable mixture. Fold up long sides of tortillas over each
other, fold up short sides to create a square packet; place 6 packets inside
each baking dish. Top each packet with 2
tablespoons of enchilada sauce; bake for 30 minutes.
Makes 12 servings.
Mary Cokenour
