Smoked Pork and Roasted Corn Burritos with White Cheddar and Chipotle Queso

Spicy burritos on a cold evening...yum! I knew I had to do something to use the avocados that were all ripe at once, and making something with the open package of tortillas was a good place to start.

What else was there to use? Quite a lot, to be honest...tomato paste and Basic Tomato Sauce in the fridge, half an onion, some white kidney beans in the freezer along with a smoked pork tenderloin.

After some thought, I went with burritos and not enchiladas, taking the time to make a white cheddar and chipotle queso sauce to serve with them, along with the avocado.

The filling was smoky and spicy, the tortillas were slightly crispy on the bottom and the sauce was a great compliment to the filling.

Start off by roasting the corn. In an ovenproof dish, combine:

1 1/2 cups of corn
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Drizzle of olive oil





Place the corn into a 350F oven and roast until it is tender, and just starting to colour. Remove from the oven and set aside until needed.

To start the filling, cook the onion in a drizzle of olive oil, until it is soft. You will need:

1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper

When the onion is soft, add:

1 - 2 tablespoons chili powder

Cook, stirring for a minute.

Stir in:

1/2 cup Basic Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste

Cook for a couple of minutes.

Stir the roasted corn into the filling, along with:

1/2 cup water

Stir in the diced pork:

3 cups of cooked, diced pork

Turn the heat down and allow the filling to simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Stir in:

3/4 cup white kidney beans

Remove from the heat.

To assemble, place 1/2 cup of filling onto a 10" flour tortilla.

Sprinkle with grated white cheddar.

Roll up by folding one edge over the filling,  folding the sides in and rolling it up.

Place the rolled up burritos into an ovenproof dish. Cover with foil.

Place into a 350F oven and bake until heated through, about 35 - 40 minutes, removing the foil for the last 5 minutes.






While the burritos are baking, make the white cheddar and chipotle queso.

Cook until soft:

1 small shallot, minced

in:

2 tablespoons butter

Stir in, and cook for two minutes:

1 heaping tablespoon flour
1/2 - 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

Whisk in:

1 cup milk

Bring to a boil, whisking, and allow it to boil for a minute.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Whisk in:

1 1/2 cups grated white cheddar.

Remove from the heat.

Whisk in:

1 tablespoon salsa









To serve, place 2 burritos in a bowl, and pour some queso over the top, passing extra at the table. Add some diced avocado and you are ready to eat! Pass extra salsa at the table if you wish.

• Any cooked leftover meat can be used in this filling: roast pork, chicken or beef, pulled pork, Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey.
• The corn can be cooked in a pan, over a medium high heat, stirring often, until it starts to caramelize. It can also be grilled...leftover grilled corn on the cob would work really well.
• Salsa can be used instead of Basic Tomato Sauce, in whole or in part if you wish.
• The amounts for chili powder and chipotle chili powder can be altered to suit your taste, as indicated by the variation called for. If you have chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, mince some and add to the for more heat and smokiness. Add some of the adobo sauce to the queso, instead of using ground chilies.
• If you feel that the filling is too dry, add more Basic Tomato Sauce or water.
• Use whatever beans you have available, or omit them if you are not a fan.
• To make this a gluten free dish, use corn tortillas and cornstarch instead of flour in the sauce.
• The queso is optional, you can serve these with salsa and guacamole, or diced avocado.
• I used white cheddar, feel free to use orange cheddar or pepper Jack.
• The burritos can be assembled and frozen. Defrost before baking.
• As the burritos are baked without sauce, they can easily be eaten by hand, and dipped in the sauce.