Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

It’s A New Year Breakfast Burrito

I’d like to present my first meal of the year (that is if you don’t count several handfuls of peanut butter M&Ms and possibly some Doritos I ate sometime between the ball dropping at midnight and leaving our friends’ New Year’s Eve party on a wave of champagne bubbles…but let’s not count those tipsy indiscretions, let’s pretend it never happened!): a breakfast burrito! And not just any breakfast burrito–a pretty darn healthy one, because even if my resolve to eat right wobbles by Groundhog’s Day, I can at least say I started off with a bang. Plus, who in the world doesn’t L-O-V-E a breakfast burrito? They are practically impossible not to adore.

So the ingredients:

-a handmade whole wheat tortilla from Trader Joe’s

-a nest of freshly steamed quinoa

-roasted grape tomatoes

-goat cheese

-Greek yogurt mixed with lime juice and cumin

-arugula

-a plain omelet cut into slivers
And because I felt like it, I also drizzled in a vinaigrette with sherry vinegar, mustard, shallots, walnut oil, and a bit of pomegranate molasses.

I realize that with so many ingredients this may seem like an arduous production, but I assure you it really isn’t, and it’s particularly worth the effort if you are trying to feed more people than just yourself. If all the elements are made in larger batches you will be able to make several burritos and make everyone fall even more in love with you. Especially those who are doing their best to eat more healthfully.

So basically the tomatoes go in the oven at 350, spread out on a sheet pan, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted until they are melty and a little charred in spots. You can do this ahead of time or in the morning, it doesn’t take long. Just make several pints because they shrivel up significantly.

The eggs are just a large omelet, whisked gently with salt and pepper and then fried with just a bit of grapeseed oil. Fold over and remove from pan when not totally set in the middle. Put aside until ready to use and then cut in thick slivers.

Arugula is just a nice cool rinse. You can also toss with the vinaigrette or yogurt sauce if you’d like.

Quinoa I cooked in my new trusty rice cooker, but you can just make it in a sauce pan the traditional way, it shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes.

If you like, you can also add some cooked beans or sliced avocado or leftover roasted chicken or pork. A breakfast burrito is the perfect receptacle for leftovers and odds and ends, or a good excuse for making a big batch of beans or roasted vegetables so you can use the extra the next day. My one bit of advice is that the chosen ingredients should provide not only a variety of color (there is nothing worse than a beige burrito) but also your chosen protein, grain, veggie, and if you choose, dairy, should provide a spectrum of crunchy, salty, sweet, leafy, tender, tangy and creamy.

It might even cure a hangover…