James’ Burrito Bowls

This dish is one of James’ go-to recipes when he is cooking supper – along with dhal.  He’s gotten really good at them over the last couple of months and so naturally, I wanted to steal his recipe and put it up on the blog (haha…)  Last night I went ahead and made one of his signature dishes, and I did ask him to tell me the directions so as to make it as authentic as possible.  The result was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself, and it did get his seal of approval.  

Ingredients

• 1 cup of dried black beans soaked overnight
• 4 + cups of water
• 1 cup of brown rice
• 2 cups of water
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 large cloves of garlic (these cloves were exceptionally huge, so I would recommend upping the garlic to 3 – 4 cloves of regular garlic)
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 4 – 5 large brown mushrooms
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1/2 cup frozen corn

Spice Blend

• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes *optional, or could use jalapeno pepper instead
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt

Serve with:

• 2 cups of spinach
• 1 avocado
• Daiya cheddar shreds
• Cilantro
• Lime *I didn’t have any, but it would’ve been a welcome additional to brighten up the dish

Directions

1. Soak the black beans overnight or for 8 hours.
2. Strain and rinse the beans and dump them into a medium-sized sauce pan with about 4 cups of water or more.  There should be about 2 inches of water overtop of the beans.
3. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to medium-low for about 20 mins or until the beans are tender.
4. Combine rice and water to another pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cover for 20 mins or until the rice is cooked.
5. While the beans and the rice are cooking, mince the garlic, dice the onion and slice the mushrooms
6. Heat oil in a medium-large sauce pan over medium heat.  *I waited until the beans were cooked and used the same pan.
7. Add the garlic and onion and let cook covered for 5 mins until the onion is translucent.
8. Add the mushrooms to the pan, and cook them covered for an additional 5 – 7 mins, or until the mushrooms start to sweat.  Add a sprinkle of salt to taste.
9. While the mushrooms are cooking, dice the tomatoes and add them to the pot.
10. Create your spice blend in a small bowl and then add to the pot, making sure to mix well to distribute evenly.
11. Add in cooked black beans.
12. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break down the tomatoes and the beans a bit.  It should look a bit like a sauce at this point.
13. Add in frozen corn and let simmer for another 5 minutes.
14. Serve over a bed of brown rice, and a handful of spinach.
15. Garnish with fresh avocado, Daiya shreds, cilantro, and a wedge of lime and enjoy!