An Inspired Cook

There’s nothing more New Mexican than having a burrito smothered in green chile sauce.  Thick green chile sauce overflowing with melted cheese creates the most savory and mouth watering New Mexican cuisine.  It’s just one of those things on my list that I can’t live without.  I need to make room to refill my freezer with this year’s crop of Hatch green chile so I’ve been making a lot of favorites lately.  This is definitely one of the best.

For the sauce you’ll need about 12 roasted green chile, onion, garlic, tomato, cilantro, flour, chicken stock and tomatillos.  The tomatillo’s are optional.  Traditional NM green chile sauce doesn’t include tomatillos but I was in the mood for the tartness and tang that tomatillos are known for.

Prep work.  Once everything is chopped and grated, it’s time to get started.

Drizzle some olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Saute the onions and tomatillos until they are softened and the onions become translucent.

Time to add the garlic.

Stir in a tablespoon of flour to the veggies to make a roux.

Then add the chopped green chile and chicken stock.  I added approximately 1 1/2 cups of stock.  The sauce will start to thicken and if too thick, add more stock.  You can’t go wrong.

I like to add some tomato for color plus I like the taste.

Lastly, add a couple tablespoons of cilantro. Stir it together and salt to taste.

I am going to use about 1 pound of ground beef today and shred 12 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese.

Brown the ground beef over medium high heat.  I added about 1/2 teaspoon just to season it a bit.

I forgot to take pics of the tortillas, but these are the 8 inch flour tortillas.  Start filling your tortilla with about 3 big spoonfuls of ground beef, top with cheese.

Spoon a little green chile sauce over top and start rolling your tortilla.

I didn’t feel the need to tuck in the ends because I’m going to smother these big burritos with so much cheese and green chile you’ll need a fork to scoop up every bite.

Spoon as much green chile sauce over the burritos as you like.  Top with more grated Monterey Jack cheese.  If you have an oven safe plate, heat in oven to melt cheese or microwave for 30 seconds.

Top with a dollop of guacamole.





Smothered Green Chile Burritos

1 pound Ground Beef
6 (8 inch) Flour Tortillas
12 ounces Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
12 Green Chiles, roasted, seeded, peeled and chopped
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, grated on a microplane hand grater
1 Roma Tomato, chopped
2 large Tomatillos, outer skin removed and  chopped
2 tablespoons Cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon Flour
1 1/2 – 2 cups Chicken Stock
Salt to taste

To make green chile sauce, drizzle olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat and saute onion and tomatillo until soft and translucent.  Add grated garlic and 1 tablespoon flour to make a roux.  Add the chopped green chile and pour in chicken stock.  Sauce will start to thicken.  If too thick add additional chicken stock until you get the desired consistency.   Add tomato and cilantro to the sauce, salt to taste.  Stir the sauce and turn down heat to a low simmer.

Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium high heat.  Drain any excess oils and salt to taste.  Fill flour tortillas with ground beef, shredded cheese and sauce.  Roll up.  Pour additional green chile sauce and cheese over the burritos and heat in oven to melt cheese.

Serve with guacamole, sour cream or any other topping of choice.

Makes 6 burritos.