What’s In A Name
Country of Origin – United States of America
The 1970s was a period of chaos and tumult in America. Wars, politics, protests, and the constant continuing fight for equality by the marginalized minorities. Surely, things couldn’t get any worse?
How about the start of decades of increasing obesity amongst children and adults? Alright, fine! There isn’t any data to support that claim. But with the burrito becoming an item on a breakfast menu, you can’t blame me for thinking along those lines?
The first breakfast burrito – or breakfast wrap (depending on where you come from) – was said to have been served at Tia Sophia’s – a New Mexican diner in Santa Fe. Although similar dishes were present in the Southwestern cuisine prior to that. With breakfast said to be the most important meal of the day, you can see the appeal of the breakfast burrito – a hearty heavy meal to start off a long and arduous day.
In fact, it wasn’t too long before even fast food chains hopped on to the breakfast burrito bandwagon, with McDonald’s, Hardees, and Carl’s Jr. serving the dish as early as the 1980s. The trend even continued into the 21st century, when Taco Bell introduced the dish to their breakfast menu in 2014.
Our Connection
Where – Cocoa Room: Dubai, UAE
When – December 2018
It was 11 am in the morning and I had just got done with my breakfast, having waited nearly 2 hours for my friends to arrive at the Cocoa Room, as we had planned the day earlier. Oh wait, I mean former friends!
Having devoured my waffles, I patiently waited as my friends ate theirs or waited for their breakfast to arrive. In fact, the breakfast burrito was the last dish to arrive at the table, and by God did it make me want to have a second breakfast. The fact that I had yet to finish my shot of Valrhona chocolate was probably the only reason why I didn’t ask my friend for a bite of his breakfast dish.
In fact, this might be the only time when I have attempted to recreate a dish that I have never really tried or sampled before. The dish was so visually attractive that I knew it had to be good enough to recreate!
Breakfast Burrito
Description
"Eggs. Avocado. Potatoes. Sausages. It just screams BREAKFAST, doesn't it?! Add a touch of Mexican flair with the tortillas and salsa, and you've got yourself the ideal breakfast - one that will either get you ready for the day, or induce you into an immediate food coma!"
Ingredients
Burrito
Omelettes
Rosti Potatoes
Chicken Sausages
Salsa
Instructions
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Finely chop the red onions, tomatoes, garlic, green chillies, red bell pepper, and jalapeños.1
Salsa
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Pour a tablespoon of oil into a sauté pan and bring it to a medium heat
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Add the required chopped onions into the pan and sauté until they turn translucent
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Add the garlic and green chilli to the pan. Continue to sauté for a few minutes
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Add the chopped tomatoes,2 tomato paste, salt, sugar, pepper. Sauté until the tomatoes become slightly mushy
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Add the chopped jalapeños and sauté for another 2-3 minutes, on low-medium heat, until the desired consistency is reached
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Pour the tequila into the pan.3 Increase the heat to a high and sauté until all of the alcohol evaporates (or the tequila stops bubbling)
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Slice a lime in half, and pour the juice of half a lime into the pan. Stir until it incorporates into the salsa
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Once the salsa has reached the desired consistency (paste-like dip), turn the stove off, and pour the salsa into a separate container
Rösti Potato
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Wash, peel, and grate the potatoes.4 Place them in a large bowl or sieve
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Rinse the potatoes under cold water for a few seconds. Ensure that all the water is drained from the bowl/sieve
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Season the grated potatoes with a few pinches of salt.5 Let the potatoes rest for a few minutes
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Once the potatoes have rested, place them in a muslin cloth.6 Bring together the edges of the cloth and tie them around one another to tightly wrap the potatoes inside (creating a ball-shaped cloth)
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Bring the cloth ball over a bowl/sieve/over the sink. Squeeze the cloth tightly so that all of the excess moisture and water from the grated potatoes drain out from the muslin cloth
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Toss the dried, peeled potatoes into a bowl. Season the potatoes with a pinch of black pepper
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Place a small sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the butter and swirl it around the pan as it melts
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Once the butter is melted and starts to warm up, sprinkle half of the grated potatoes into the pan, spreading it evenly across the entire pan with the help of a spatula7
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Let the potatoes cook on a medium heat for a few minutes or until the whole bottom turns golden brown
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Once the bottom of the rösti is cooked, flip it over8 and cook the other side for another 2-3 minutes on medium heat or until that side turns golden brown too
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Once the rösti potato is fully cooked through, transfer it on to a separate plate (preferably over a tissue paper to absorb any excess oil)
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Repeat the process for the next batch of grated potatoes. Do the same until all of the batches are complete
Chicken Sausages
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Fill water into a kettle, and bring it to a boil
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Drop the chicken frankfurters into a small-medium sauté pan
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Pour the boiling water into the sauté pan until the frankfurters are completely submerged. Turn the stove on medium heat
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Let the frankfurters boil for a 3-5 minutes or until they feel tender
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Drain the water, let the frankfurters cool for a few minutes before chopping them up into small pieces.9
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Pour a tablespoon of oil into a sauté pan and bring it over a medium heat
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Once the oil is warm, toss in the chopped sausages and sauté for a minute
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Sprinkle the smoked paprika, black pepper, and mixed Italian seasoning over the sausages. Continue to sauté until the sausages are marinated in all of the spices and the raw smell dissipates
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Once the sausages are cooked, turn the stove off, and let them rest while you prepare the omelette
Omelette
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Crack two eggs in a small bowl. Whisk until all of the egg whites dissolve in the yolk
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Add half of the chopped onions, red bell peppers, garlic cloves, and green chillies
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Season the eggs with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Stir until all of the ingredients are combined
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Pour a tablespoon of oil into a sauté pan and bring it over a medium heat
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Once the oil is warm, gently pour the egg into the sauté pan
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Cook the omelette for a few minutes or until the bottom of the omelette starts to turn golden brown
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Carefully flip the omelette and cook the other side until it turns slightly golden brown or the egg is no longer runny
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Place it on a separate plate once cooked. Repeat the same process for the other batches of eggs
Breakfast Burrito
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Place the tortilla wrap on a large pan. Bring it under a low-medium heat - enough for the tortilla to warm up.10
Repeat the same for all the tortilla wraps
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Scoop the flesh off an avocado and slice it thinly, length-wise
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To serve (per serving) - Place an omelette over the warm tortilla wrap; over the omelette, place the rösti potato; lay the pieces of sausages and avocados over the rösti; and finally garnish with a few dollops of the homemade salsa
Note
1. Since there are multiple elements to the dish, it is imperative that you keep all of the ingredients and pans ready to cook them simultaneously. If you cook them one at a time, it will take you longer than the provided time information.
2. Roasting the tomatoes prior to chopping the pieces gives the salsa a smokey flavour.
3. You can omit the Tequila, if you don't want the alcohol. If you are using it, then I recommend you burn off the alcohol by cooking the salsa on a higher heat for a few minutes. Ensure that the tomatoes do not burn in/stick to the pan by constantly moving them. If cooking on a flame, adding Tequila will cause a flambé (fire), so be careful to add just a hint of alcohol and remove from the stove while flambéing.
4. An alternative to grating raw, peeled potatoes would be to par-boil them for a few minutes in salted water until they are tender, and then grating them.
5. I would advise seasoning the grated potatoes with salt before squeezing them, as the salt will cause the potatoes to draw out more water. Squeezing them post seasoning will allow you to drain out as much as water as possible.
6. If you do not own a muslin cloth or a cloth that will enable you to properly squeeze out the water from the potatoes, you can use your hands. Make sure, however, to squeeze out as much water as possible before frying them.
7. Alternatively, you can mould the squeezed, grated potatoes into large circles and set them to chill in the refrigerator/freezer for at least 30 mins - 1 hour. This will ensure that the röstis hold their shape while frying
8. Be extremely careful whilst flipping your rösti potatoes. To flip the potatoes, ensure that the bottom of the rösti is golden brown. Place a plate (larger than the surface area of the pan) over the sauté pan; flip the pan upside down while sturdily holding the plate from the bottom; lift the pan from the plate and set it on the stove; slide the rösti (now with the golden brown part up) back into the pan and let it cook.
9. If you plan on rolling the burrito, you might want to cut the frankfurters into length-wise slits. This will enable you to fit a few more pieces and roll the burrito without too much spillage.
10. If you plan on rolling the burrito, you can toast the burrito after filling it with the rest of the elements.
11. The prices of the ingredients (table below) are only rough estimates and are subject to change!
12. As certain ingredients are common household items - salt, pepper, oil - you may not be required to purchase them, and so the cost of preparing this dish is lower.
