Friday Night Burrito

Friday night, which means too much drink and a need for spicy food to mask the badness. Tonight, I'm adapting a chili con carne recipe and filling large wheat tortilla wraps to make a carb-rich treat to soak up the excess alcohol - it's pretty much a health food.

I'm having a bit of a chilli-fied week this week, what with making my Gourmet Chilli con Carne recipe only a few days ago. But I reckon (hope) my stomach can take it. Tonight's chilli recipe is a basic one - no fresh onions or garlic, but if the truth be told, I normally keep a bit from my gourmet version in the freezer, for just this occasion. Of course, I was a bit of a greedy-guts, so with none of my midweek chilli left, I am making this very simple and quick version instead. It really is fabulous, and because it is so clean-tasting, it compliments the other burrito fillings very well.

Buy tinned refried beans if you can't be bothered to make your own, but it's a lot more fun - and really easy - to make them yourself.

There are a lot of parts to this dish. I normally make the pico de gallo a day earlier and let the flavours develop in the fridge. You can do the same with the chilli, the rice and the beans if you like - in fact, I recommend it. Heated up chilli is always better than fresh.

This whole dinner is only going to set you back around £2.50 per serving, leaving enough for a shot of tequila to go with it (why do I do this to myself?)

Serves 4

Beef Chilli

INGREDIENTS:

500g ground beef
50ml sunflower or olive oil
1 teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried chili flakes
400g passata
Pinches of salt and pepper
200ml water

Fry the beef with the oil on a moderate heat until any liquid in the meat has evaporated (20 minutes approx). Add the dry spices, passata and water. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the chilli has thickened (1 hour approx), stirring occasionally. Set aside until needed.

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Refried Beans

INGREDIENTS:

2 x 400g tins, or 200g dried, soaked and cooked (1 hour approx) red kidney beans, drained
50ml water
100g butter
Pinches of salt and pepper

Add the ingredients to a saucepan on a moderate heat and mash with a fork until you have a smooth paste. Set aside until needed.

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Mexican Rice

INGREDIENTS:

200g basmati or long grain rice
400ml chicken stock
1 tablespoon of paprika
100g sweetcorn kernels
Pinches of salt and pepper

Add all ingredients to a saucepan and cook on a moderate heat until the rice has absorbed the water (approx 15 minutes). Set aside until needed.

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Pico de Gallo

INGREDIENTS:

4 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 bunch of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
Pinches of salt and pepper

Mix the ingredients together and refrigerate until needed.

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To Assemble the Burrito

INGREDIENTS:

4-8 large or very large wheat tortilla wraps, depending on size
200ml sour cream or creme fraiche
100g iceberg lettuce, shredded
200g cheddar cheese, grated

Lay either 1 single, or 2 overlapping, (depending on size of tortilla and/or recipient) tortillas on a flat surface. Lay a spoonful of rice on the tortilla and spread it out, followed by a spoonful of beans. Then take a spoonful of the chilli and a spoonful of pico de gallo, making sure that all the ingredients have left at least a 5cm margin within the outside edge of the tortilla(s). Dress the burrito to taste, with cheese, lettuce and sour cream or creme fraiche. Turn the left and right edges of the tortilla(s) into the centre, and with a swift movement, roll the tortilla over to form a fat cigar. Serve.