San Diego State Aztecs (San Diego, CA): “Deconstructed” Burritos
San Diego seems not to have a cuisine of its own so much as it borrows heavily from the cuisine of its southern neighbor. But in cooking the food of San Diego, we wanted to do a little bit more than just try to recreate (poorly) some Mexican cuisine. And so we also tried to highlight another aspect of San Diego (or, at least, California) cooking: healthy dining. Spurred in part by guest-chef Jon’s recent “discovery” that refined carbohydrates aren’t healthy (wow, thanks, Men’s Health!), we didn’t make a classic burrito to represent San Diego State; we made a “deconstructed burrito.” That means that we forewent the (carb-heavy) tortilla that usually surrounds a burrito and instead served our chicken, guacamole, etc. on a bed of brown rice.
Takeaway: burritos are much more delicious with tortillas.
Deconstructed Burritos
for rice
brown rice
chicken broth
for stewed chicken
2-3 chicken breasts
honey
cumin
chili in adobo sauce
for guacamole
2 avocados
chopped red onion
chopped tomato
lime juice
cilantro
for beans
black beans
chopped onions
chopped garlic
sour cream
cilantro
1. Cook brown rice, using 1:2 ratio for brown rice to water (or other liquid—we used chicken broth). Place rice and liquid in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat, cover pot, and let rice simmer for 30 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes.
2. Cook chicken in liquid. Add chili in adobo sauce, honey, and cumin. When chicken is tender, shred chicken.
3. To make guacamole, mash avocados together with chopped onions, cilantro, tomatoes and lime juice.
4. To make beans, heat chopped onions and garlic in a saucepan in some oil. Add beans and cook till heated through, stirring occassionally.
5. When all the components of the burrito are done, top rice with chicken, beans and guacamole. Spoon some sour cream on top, and add some cilantro.
