Beef and Potato Burritos...

We have a fair amount of meatless meals around here and in fact, the last three recipes in a row we've posted about were that way! It's not for any particular reason, but we've just grown to end up gravitating that way in the past few years. Saying that, there are still nights around here where nothing but meat and potatoes sounds good enough to satisfy our bellies.

Tonight was one of those times and to quell that rumbling, we thought these Beef and Potato Burritos would do the job and be a little out of the ordinary. To get these burritos going, we slid a diced russet potato into a skillet lined with enough oil to turn their edges a rich golden brown. The cubes won't be fully tender yet, but to keep things moving along, we slid the potatoes to one side and added lean ground sirloin, a chopped onion and a finely chopped jalapeño into the skillet. Crumbling the meat as it cooked, it took just a few minutes for the onions to soften and the beef to cook through - it is fine if the potatoes get mixed in during this process, but don't be too rough and end up smashing them to bits.

Juicy fire-roasted diced tomatoes, cumin and paprika were then thrown into the mix to add moisture and help finish cooking the potatoes through. Let this bubble away until most of the liquid from the tomatoes has concentrate down, leaving you with a thick, meaty filling that aches to meet its tortilla blanket. To make the large tortillas a bit more flexible, each one went into a heated dry skillet until they had warmed through and taken on just a hint of color. To assemble these monsters, we first smeared the bottom of the tortillas with sour cream, followed by shreds of crisp fresh romaine, the beefy potato filling, mild Monterey Jack cheese, fresh cilantro and one of the magic ingredients, fresh lime juice!

Because these are stuffed pretty full, you'll want to leave one end open, otherwise it will most likely be a tough fit to get the filling completely enclosed. Besides, it makes them a bit more attractive with one end open than just a bulging hunk of tortilla on your plate! The tender potato cubes may be a little unexpected in a burrito, but using it as a starch, rather than rice, was such a fun (and inexpensive!) way to bulk up the filling. We both commented how the smokiness from the cumin and roasted tomato worked in such a good way to highlight the meat and potatoes, while the lettuce and cilantro layers helped cut through the heaviness the filling brought. That squirt of lime at the end is also an absolute must-have - bright, tangy and adds just the right zip to round out the filling.

Recipes

Beef and Potato Burritos