BREAKFAST BURRITOS

When I was considering this post, I thought, “Who doesn’t know how to make a breakfast burrito? More than that, who doesn’t have his or her own favorite?”  While all of that is probably true, I decided to write this post anyway.

Part of the reason is that I just made some breakfast burritos for my wife, who started out before dawn to drive more than 14 hours and more than half way through Texas to visit her sister in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and then to pick up our grandson from the airport to take him to Shreveport, Louisiana, where his parents will be involved in a two-week-long food and cooking demonstration. I will join them and plan to send posts about the events, including my daughter’s demonstration on how to butcher a whole hog! You read that right, and I plan to document the event for posterity.

The second reason for the post is that whenever I visit San Francisco, I always make breakfast burritos for Evan and Sarah as they rush out the door to the restaurant. After the birth of their new son, they have both gone on diets, so I have been told that there will be no more breakfast burritos. So I thought I needed to share with somebody.

Garden spinach herb wrap-size flour tortillas

Clockwise: cherry tomatoes, red onion, crimini mushrooms, sharp Cheddar cheese

Breakfast sausage browning in vegetable oil

Stir in the frozen hash brown potatoes

Add two fresh eggs to the scramble

Finished burrito filling

Toast the tortillas on a hot skillet or comal until lightly toasted on both sides

Put the filling in the middle of the tortilla

Fold over the two sides before rolling from one end

Serve while still hot

RECIPE

Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil + more as needed
• ¼ pound breakfast sausage
• 2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
• 3 crimini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup diced red onion
• 6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
• ¼ cup diced green chiles
• ¼ cup salsa
• Cholula hot sauce, to taste (optional)
• salt and pepper
• 2 extra-large flour tortillas (10½ inch wrap size) I used garden spinach herb flavor, but you can choose any flavor)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté until the pink color is lost, breaking it up as it cooks.
2. Stir in the frozen hash browns, adding more oil if needed. Stir frequently until the potatoes begin to crisp.
3. Stir in the mushrooms and sauté until they give up their liquid and the mixture is nearly dry. Then add the red onion and tomatoes. Sauté until the onions and tomatoes are softened.
4. Lower the heat to medium-low and stir in the eggs, mixing them in thoroughly. When the eggs have nearly set up, stir in the green chiles and salsa. If you want more spiciness, adjust the seasoning with hot sauce, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low as you prepare the tortillas.
5. Heat a large cast iron skillet or comal over a high flame. When the surface is hot, place one of the tortillas on the skillet and bake for 15 seconds or until it is lightly browned. Turn and bake the other side until lightly browned and the tortilla is softened. Do not cook too long, or the tortilla will become stiff. Set the first tortilla aside and then bake the second.
6. Place half of  the sausage and egg mixture  in the middle of each tortilla. Fold over opposing edges, and then roll up from one end. Serve immediately or wrap in foil so it can be taken on the road. If you are going to eat them at home, you can cover them with red or green chile sauce.