Where do you call home? Home used to be such a simple concept, but I’ve struggled to define it lately. For the first few years of life, home was where I lived with my parents in a small town near the Oklahoma panhandle. Home had brown tile floors that I tottered across at the heels of my red-haired cousin. My family, friends and belongings were all there. Things got more complicated when we moved to an Oklahoma City suburb and I left for college, but now that I’ve moved out of my home state, I really don’t know what or where home is.
I visited Oklahoma the week before last for the first time since moving to Kansas City. There I was laughing with my dearest friends around a table at our favorite Mexican restaurant, but my old apartment wasn’t mine any more. The town that I had lived in for the past eight years felt like home, once removed. I spent a few nights at my parents’ place, too. They moved to a bigger house after I left for college; I still don’t know where all the light switches are. I suppose it will always be home since my parents are there but it feels a little empty now that my brothers have left the nest, too.
Here I am in Kansas City, which is feeling more like home. Everything has its place now, including Cookie, who is curled up by my feet on our new couch. We can call it home for now, I guess?
I’m not exactly sure what to call this burrito, either. I do love how Mexican food has a different word for every traditional incarnation of tortillas, cheese and fillings/toppings. Burritos, tacos, tostadas, huevos rancheros, quesadillas, nachos: each tasty in its own right.
What we have here is a lightly baked burrito of modest size—a borderline enchilada, really—smothered in a zesty avocado sauce. I wanted to incorporate as much sauce as I possibly could in this burrito, so I just drowned the burrito in the stuff from above. At that rate, eating the burrito required a fork, so why bother rolling in the sides of the tortilla? Might as well sprinkle the insides with cheese and bake it for a few minutes so it all sticks together instead.
I had originally planned to make an avocado crema, but after blending avocados in the food processor, it was evident that puréed avocados from Mexico are plenty rich and creamy on their own. I thought about making a homemade salsa verde but all the tomatillos I could find were subpar this late in the season. I skipped on over to the salsa aisle with an excuse to take a shortcut (who doesn’t like a good shortcut?). At home, I blended the avocados with flavorful salsa verde, fresh lime juice, cilantro and garlic. The end result is an addictive avocado salsa verde reminiscent of the sauce covering my favorite burrito at the aforementioned Mexican restaurant, Pepe’s.
Maybe we don’t need a word for this super fresh burrito-enchilada hybrid after all. It’s good; let’s leave it at that.
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked hot paprika (or chipotle powder)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- sea salt and black pepper
- 4 to 6 whole wheat tortillas
- 2 roasted red peppers (I used jarred)
- 2 cups cooked black beans or 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1+ cup shredded Jack cheese
- 2 ripe avocados from Mexico
- 1 cup mild salsa verde, jarred
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh jalapeño, deseeded and roughly chopped (optional)
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
- up to 2 tablespoons water, to thin as necessary
- sea salt, to taste (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- finely chopped jalapeño (optional)
- sour cream
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Scrub and peel the sweet potatoes. Chop them into large, bite-sized chunks, about 1 to 1 1/2-inches wide/long and 1/2-inch deep. Toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, cumin, smoked hot paprika, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. Make sure they are lightly coated in oil on all sides. Pour the sweet potatoes onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Arrange the sweet potatoes evenly in a single layer. Do not overcrowd. Bake for about 45 minutes, flipping the sweet potato chunks halfway, until they are golden and caramelized around the edges.
- Make the avocado sauce: in a food processor or a good blender, combine the avocado flesh, salsa verde, garlic, jalapeño (skip this if your salsa is spicy) and lime juice. Blend. Add the cilantro and blend again. Add water to thin out the sauce if desired; the sauce should glop easily off a spoon. Taste and blend in some sea salt or add another squeeze of lime if necessary. This sauce should taste like a real kick in the mouth; you’ll know you’re done when you can’t stop going in for another spoonful of the stuff.
- Make sure the oven is still on at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.* Place your tortillas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In the middle of each tortilla, put down a couple strips of roasted red pepper, then pour 1/3 cup black beans down the center and top it all with 1/3 cup roasted sweet potato chunks. Sprinkle 1/4 cup or more of jack cheese on top. Pull one edge of the tortilla over to the center of the burrito, then pull the opposite edge over to overlap a bit. Gently roll the burrito over. Repeat with remaining burritos. Bake your burritos for about 5 minutes on the middle rack, until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are lightly crisp.
- Carefully transfer each burrito to a plate. Smother it in avocado sauce, sprinkle with ample romaine lettuce, some chopped red onion, jalapeño if you’d like and a dollop of sour cream. Go at it with a fork.
- Roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time and warm them up a bit before assembling the burritos for a quick weeknight meal. You could also bake a batch of them and wrap them up for later, reserving the avocado sauce and toppings for the last minute.
- The taste of the avocado sauce is dependent on the type of salsa you use. I recommend a basic, mild salsa verde made with tomatillos.
- The avocado sauce will keep well in a bowl in the fridge for a few days. Cover the surface of it with with plastic wrap to minimize contact with air and help ensure that your sauce doesn’t go brown.
- If you have leftover sauce, it doubles as a stellar salad dressing on romaine lettuce.
- *You don’t necessarily have to bake these burritos (warm tortilla, black beans and sweet potatoes should melt the cheese) but I preferred the faintly crunchy exterior of the baked burrito.
- This burrito could easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese and sour cream. Still delicious, I promise!
- Peeling sweet potatoes is SO easy with this sharp, cheap little vegetable peeler
.
Disclaimer: This is a working partnership with Avocados from Mexico and Muy Bueno Cookbook and I was compensated for recipe development. Opinions expressed are my own, always. The truth is I love avocados!
92 Comments
I feel the same way about home- ever since college I’ve been bouncing around every year or two. I can’t wait to get to a place where I feel like it my be a bit more permanent (crossing my fingers that it might be California!)
As for the burrito- delicious. One cannot go wrong with sweet potatoes, black beans, and avocados!
Can’t wait to follow along in your California adventures! I want to come visit. Come to Kansas City before you go!
I love this recipe!!! I often have a baked sweet potato stuffed with avocado/black bean salsa but this takes it to a whole new delicious level!!!
I’ve been thinking about home a lot recently (although somewhat different in that, apart from university, I’ve never lived anywhere other than my city) but when I talk about going ‘home’ what do I mean? Like your parents, mine moved after we left home and I don’t think their current place is really my home although I have a bedroom there. But I still don’t really feel like my flat is home. It’s really weird at times. I think I’m just still searching for my grown up home.
Love this recipe too, such a great combination of flavours.
My room at my parent’s house doubles as the guest room. I never decorated it but it’s full of relics from my childhood. It still feels strange to sleep there. At this point, I want to stay open to moving around instead of settling down so I guess home is wherever I make it!
I didn’t realize you lived in Kansas City. my husband and I were just there this past weekend! I didn’t really know what to expect but we really liked it there. we had some really delicious food! I have lived in Michigan most of my life, but we will be moving out of state within the next year so I’m sure I will relate to that feeling. these burritos sound delicious by the way.. avocado and sweet potato are two of my favorite foods.
Glad you liked it here! I live near the Plaza area. Did you find any particularly great restaurants? I’ve started a list of places to go when I get a chance.
Ah, home is such a tricky thing. I’ve always felt tied to where my family is, on the farm and such. But I also lived in Toronto/abroad for 8 years and that always felt right at the time too. It’s much more of a concept to me now. If I can make a meal for myself and have a sense of warmth and community where I dwell, it’s home. Easy.
I wanted to add that the photos on this one are so baller. So bright and happy. Love the sound of this roll-y, burrito-enchilada hybrid food vessel smothered in avocado goodness. xo
Thanks, Laura. I’ve definitely realized that home is not just a place and accepting that home may be a more transient concept from here on out. Cookie makes me feel at home wherever we are. :) Thanks for the photo love, too. That burrito posed a challenge.
I definitely relate to the what to call home question. Growing up my family moved around quite a bit, then spent 7 of my post college years in NYC and just recently re-located to Seattle.
Now for this recipe, this burrito looks delicious no matter what you call home!
Hope Seattle feels like home for you soon, Carrie. That’s a lot of moving!
This sounds so lovely! Mmmm that topping in the best!
Two songs for you and the space you’re in // http://bit.ly/J9bl0 and http://bit.ly/TcC0CA sending you hugs from my new “home” here a few states over. xo. (ps, the burrito looks bomb. obvi.)
I will eat avocado on anything! I like to throw together a lot of quick burritos during the week. Waiting for potatoes to bake to put into the burrito is something I’ll have to prepare myself for since it looks delicious, heheh.
Yesssssss.
I’m with you on the “home” thing, there are so many homes to be had! This avocado sauce looks divine, I can’t wait to try! ps I love your pictures!
Ah yes. Where is home? I’ve lived in a few spots, but Vancouver has always been home. Then we moved to Sweden and now Stockholm is home. It feels as much at home as Vancouver ever did, but when I arrive back after a visit ‘home’ I feel simultaneously home sick and at home. It’s a weird thing.
Sweet potatoes, black beans, and avocado? Yes please. That sauce looks incredible. Thanks for the recipe!
Vancouver and Stockholm both sound like nice cities to call home. Have you read My Berlin Kitchen by Louisa Weiss? She talks about growing up between Berlin and Boston, I think you’d like it.
Sweet potato and avocado crema sound like am amazing burrito combination! The home question is a bit more difficult: we’ve lived in the south SF bay for about eight years–and I spent the 6 earliest years of my childhood here besides–but it’s only been recently that California has even started to feel like home.
I want to live inside this burrito. Yes. Yes, I do.
Holy Moly! My favorite burrito combo…sweet potatoes, black beans, and avocado…divine! Can’t wait to try this version!
Thanks, Allana! Hope you love it, I think you will!
This recipe sounds delicious — love black beans and sweet potatoes together, and love avocados, so what’s not to like! Interesting too that you live in Kansas City. We might be moving there next year to house-sit for friends. Have never been there but we’re always up for an adventure!
Kansas City is really neat! I think you’d like it, Emily.
hi kate – thank you for being so open and for your candid sharing of your life. i love your blog and the inspiration i get from it. the photos are beautiful and have helped me steer my food adventures to be more whole-grain-and-veggie-centric! i wanted to say thank you for that and i look forward to more blog posts and delicious recipes…and of course, i wish you the best in the search for that sense of home. while i haven’t found it completely myself, i have a hunch it’s a journey and perhaps, one that is lifelong…so why not add some great food while we’re at it? ;)
Jamie, thank you so much for your comment! I’m glad to know you’re out there and enjoying my posts. Maybe I’ll never have a home in the old-fashioned sense again, but I like your attitude about good food. :)
I Always overfill my burritos as well. No point in rolling in the sides : ) And you’ve filled it with all my fav ingredients!
I’m a chronic overfiller, too! Every time I go to Chipotle, I ask for ALL the salsas and loads of veggies and apologize when they can’t roll it all up. Delicious, though. :)
This looks yummy! And, it looks very similar to what we were eating this week. I made some portabella mushroom, spinach, and black bean enchiladas with green chili sauce. I was eating them with avocado on the side, and Josh happened to eat them with leftover mashed sweet potatoes, too. He claimed it was a tasty combination, but I have to admit, your combo sounds better!
As for home… who’s to say you can’t have several? I had a very similar experience when I traveled back and forth from Colorado to Oklahoma… They both felt like going home! I decided that instead of feeling torn between two places, I should feel lucky for having two places I loved enough to call home.
Your enchiladas sound amazing, Stephanie. I have something similar in mind to post soon. I feel like in this day and age, lots of people have more than one home. I’m trying to accept it as my reality; I’ll get there. Hope to see you when I’m back in town for Thanksgiving!
sounds positively delightful, will be making this asap!
Amazing in so many ways! I love the avocado sauce!
Avocado sauce? black beans and sweet potato? you are speaking my language. THE YUMMY LANGUAGE, ha ha. can’t wait to try it out! :)
This is exactly what I wanted for dinner tomorrow night – thank you!
A table at Pepe’s will always be home. I cry during movies and sad commercials and reading particularly moving chapters of my favorite novels, but I really wished I could have mustered a sob that night at Pepe’s. I love my friends so much, and being so far from all of them isn’t easy, but I’m happy we’re all close to where we want to be, if not exactly where we want to be.
I hope you decide to come to Mark’s sister’s wedding with me.
Your biggest fan,
Matt
Thanks, friends. I’ll try to make it to the wedding. ♥
This is my kind of dinner… it would satisfy my obsession with Mexican food and avocados, and I love the idea of using sweet potatoes in the middle!
I love sweet potato burritos! I hope you are liking Kansas City!
Kate, have you heard this bit from Jim Gaffigan about Mexican food? Love that guy. http://soundcloud.com/crash-2-1/jim-gaffigan-o-mexican-food
I love salsa verde and avocado is a brilliant addition. Really can’t wait to try this.
And home? For me, it’s wherever my husband is. :) Glad you’re settling in to yours (and cookie too).
Haha! No, I hadn’t heard that clip. Thanks for sharing, Marissa.
Fresh, flavorful and comforting, a beautiful combination.
Amazing! Great take on Mexican. Its like post modern Mexican LOL! Had this with a mix of brown rice, corn and peas on the side. ROCKED! Thank you again Kate!
Post modern Mexican? Love that! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Luis.
I love sweet potato and black bean enchiladas and that avocado salsa verde looks incredible. I will be making that for our next Mexican night for sure!
This looks amazing! What an interesting twist on a burrito recipe!
I love the combo of sweet potato and black beans. Anything smothered in avocado has to bed good!
The avocado salsa verde was incredible! Did not have fresh jalepeno, so just used red chili flakes. My husband and I used it as a salad dressing the next day. He is begging me to make it again. It will be my go to sauce from now on. The enchiladas were great too.
That’s so great, Terri! That sauce makes a killer dressing, doesn’t it? I might just have to make a salad post for it.
Kathryne, I’m drooling over your smear of avocado salsa verde. It doesn’t get better than that!
xxoo to you,
E
Oh my gosh this looks incredible!! I love the avocado cream sauce!
this looks simply fantastic.
Oh goodness, that sounds like pure deliciousness!
This is my kind of meal!
This is super easy and so flavorful! A real keeper! Try it tonight!
Thanks, Beth. I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Wow! Everything on your bog looks amazing! Can’t wait to try these burritos
This looks fabulous, Kate! I always have said that moving has been one of the hardest things I’ve done. It’s something that seemed to affect me a lot, in ways I never imagined. I now live in my hometown, but oddly still feel like my home is back in NYC, even though it never felt rooted there. Go figure.
Burrito looks great and sounds delicious. I have been trying to consume a bit less meat and really kick up the vegetables in my diet. This burrito looks like a great lunch with no meat. Thanks for the post.
Avocado salsa verde?!? Oh yum!! I love anything and everything avocado!
Love the black bean sweet potato combo and looking forward to trying your twist on it!
I made this with a girlfriend on Halloween and it was AMAZING! The burrito and the avocado verde were both easy to make and seemingly simple but had super complex flavors, it was soo good! I’ve made a lot of things from your blog and this has joined the stuffed globe zucchini as a repeat meal :)
Hooray! I’m so glad you both enjoyed the burritos. I want to smother everything in that avocado verde!
I think that we’re all allowed to have more than one ‘home’. Having moved repeatedly, I know how hard and confusing it can be. I guess I’ve come to terms that home is simply a place that embraces us with is sense of comfort and warmth when we’re there. I’m sure you’ll settle in to your new home soon! :)
And this recipe looks amazing. Avocado and sweet potato are some of my favorite things on earth!
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Hi Kate, me again! I just made this recipe and it’s delish! A huge hit with the bf. As for the salsa verde, we don’t seem to have it here, so I tried to make the sauce myself without it, but added capers and parsley into it as well (I don’t think we have tomatillos here…and it was a little hard to get avocados from Mexico :}). I also subbed the sweet potato with pumpkin. And to answer your question – yes, we do have butternut squash here in NZ. I will try that recipe of yours for the chili next time. As we are heading into summer down here, our pumpkins and squash are out of season, but I’ll have to keep it in mind for next autumn :} I’m looking for a good vegetarian recipe to make on Christmas Eve to take down to my auntie’s house with me on Christmas Day. Do you have any suggestions? I’m looking forward to trying some of your baking recipes next. Many thanks, Whytney :}
Hi Whytney! I love how you put your own spin on this recipe. I never would have thought to try parsley, capers and pumpkin. I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea of warm-weather Christmas dishes. This is a really fabulous grain salad, which you could make beforehand and just mix in the arugula when you get to your aunt’s house: http://cookieandkate.com/2012/arugula-carrot-and-chickpea-salad-with-wheat-berries/. This chickpea salad is great and easy to mix ahead as well: http://cookieandkate.com/2010/chickpea-salad-recip/. Wish I had more suggestions beyond salads!
I will definitely try this combo, since I love sweet potato, black beans and avocado! By the way, home for me is Montreal, Qc, Canada.
keep on posting great and inspiring recipes!
I’m dying. I need to eat these! Sweet potato and avocado isn’t a combination I had considered for Mexican food. Can’t wait.
This recipe is amazing. We are located in Costa Rica, where the avocados are incredible which makes this dish even better! Thank you!- Food Lovers Retreats
Hi Kate,
I live in India and absolutely love your blog. This recipe is absolutely fabulous and all of us at home loved it.
We have an amazing variety of fruits and vegetables in my part of the country and you are an inspiration to try different things!
Hi Kavita, thank you so much for your comment. I’m delighted to hear that you are enjoying my blog and my recipes! I hope to publish some more recipes with Indian flavors this winter. I’d love to visit India someday!
Our whole family loved these SO much! Marvelous and can’t wait to try again!
I am really happy to hear that, Lexi! Thanks for letting me know!
Maybe I should know this but how can or what should I wrap the potatoes to save for later? My family is against avacadoes so I don’t get them often. I also don’t know how to get good avacadoes. Anyway, I have prepared the potatoes and will go get the rest of the ingredients later. This looks absolutely delicious!! I’m not sure what brought me here (your site) but I’m glad I found it. Checking out the rest of your recipes now.
Kristen in NC
Sorry for the delayed response, Kristen. I kept the potatoes in a bowl covered with saran wrap and cooked the burritos the next day. I look for avocados that have a little bit of give to them and let them ripen on the counter at home.
Oh hi there again! Bookmarking this one as well! Is it dinner time yet?!? These mexican dishes all sound amazing!
Made this for dinner tonight. Very good. Thank you.
Thank you, Allison. I’m glad you enjoyed the burrito.
these were so good! LOVE LOVE LOVE
Love the combination of sweet potatoes and black beans! It also makes a good “burrito bowl” without the tortilla for a lighter meal. Happy New Year!
These burritos were AMAZING! My husband is a burrito fanatic and he said these were the best he’s ever had; he is in love with the sauce. We will definitely be making these again! I featured this recipe in my most recent weekly meal plan on my blog, thank you!
Thank you, Emily! So glad you enjoyed this recipe as well. That sauce is good on, like, everything. Seriously.
I made these tonight, and they are definitely going into regular rotation. They were absolutely delicious, especially the avocado salsa. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks, Kristine! So glad you enjoyed the burritos. That avocado salsa is delicious on everything—I love it as a salad dressing, too!
Oh wow! This dish was incredible! Making it again…. And again.
Thank you for commenting, Myrtle! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I didn’t have all of the ingredients on-hand, so I improvised and it turned out delicious. Thank you for the inspiration!!!
And your pictures are lovely!
Made these tonight. They were really good. My hubby even liked them. Great meatless Monday dinner. Thank you.
Thanks, Tracy! Glad you both enjoyed the burritos.
Hi, I made these burritos tonight for dinner and my family loved them!
Thanks for all the great recipes. I love your site and read it daily.
Thank you, Marisa! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and happy to hear that you visit my site often. Thank you!
Made this recipe for dinner tonight and it was so delish! Definitely marked as a keeper and I can’t wait to make it for guests!
Thank you, Emily. I’m glad to hear it!
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