Tortillas’ Long Lost Burrito Recipe [Hits From The Past]

With the recent opening of Bell Street Burritos in Westside, people are again eulogizing Tortillas, Atlanta’s original burrito joint.  After shutting their doors in 2003, but before they set off into the sunset, Tortillas bequeathed one last gift to Atlanta’s Tex-Mex aficionados: some loose recipe guidelines on how to make most of what was made to go inside and on top of their much romanticized product.  Long stashed on my computer, I thought today was a good day to share the handful of Tortillas’ recipes, so that you can make these San Francisco-style burritos at home.  Check them out … after the jump!

Tortillas Burrito Recipe
adapted from the Tortillas myspace page

Guacamole

Ingredients: Haas avocados, red chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, vinegar.

Process:

1. Break up the avocados so that they are chunky
2. Add the spice mixture in this ratio: 6 parts red chili powder, 5 parts ground cumin, 2 parts garlic powder, 2 parts black pepper, 3 parts salt.
3. Add vinegar to taste, approx. 1 tbls. per avocado used
4. Add Red Rooster or Texas Pete hot sauce to taste., approx. 1.5 tsp. per avocado used

Green Sauce

Ingredients: 1 part canned tomatillos, 1 part canned jalapeño slices, fresh cilantro, fresh onion.

Process:

1. Drain the tomatillos
2. Combine with the jalapeños and their juices. (1 to 1 ratio of tomatillos to jalapeños)
3. Add diced onion and cilantro and blend in a food processor.  Use cilantro for coloring

Red Sauce

Ingredients: 4 parts canned tomatoes, 1 part canned jalapeños, chili powder, cumin, salt

1. Mix the tomatoes with the canned jalapeños and their juices
2. Add the spice mixture in this ratio: 5 parts chili powder, 4 parts cumin, 3 parts salt
3. Blend in a food processer until the desired texture.

Salsa Fresco

Ingredients: Tomatoes>Onion>Cilantro

Process: Combine and blend that stuff!

Beans (Black or Pinto)

Ingredients: dry beans, salt, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, black pepper, vegetable oil (2 tbls. per lbs. of beans).

1. Do not presoak beans but do remove stones, etc.
2. In a pot, combine beans with 7 parts salt, 5 parts chili powder, 3 parts cumin, 2 parts garlic powder, 2 parts black pepper, and vegetable oil.
3. Cover beans with water (just above the level of the beans) and bring to a simmering boil.  Cook for 3 to 4 hours (less if using black beans).

Marinades

According to the “recipe”, the shrimp was covered in guacamole spice; the potatoes and tofu were marinated with the red spice.  The steak was marinated for a day using equal parts vinegar, water, corn oil, and red spice.  Red Rooster was usually added and sometimes the guacamole spice was swapped for red spice.

Noted: I have no idea what they mean by guacamole spice and red spice.