Southwest Middle East Burritos

Lately I've been much more adventurous about trying foods I always thought, based on limited experience, that I hated. Brussels sprouts, for example. This recipe is an example of that. I tried hummus once and didn't like it. However, I found that homemade hummus, with a tweak or two, is FAR superior to the store bought stuff. I call these Southwest Middle East Burritos because I use cilantro and cumin in the hummus.

This meal takes under 30 minutes, and makes 3 burritos. You will have leftover hummus, though, so feel free to make more chicken than I did, and you could probably easily serve 4 or 5 with this recipe.

You will need:

for the hummus:
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), 15 or 16 ounces
1/4 cup tahini (basically, a paste made out of sesame seeds)(this is a little harder to find -- in my area you can't get it at Walmart, but you CAN find it at Kroger, either in the organic food aisle or the Asian food aisle)
1 lemon
1 heaping spoonful of minced garlic
cilantro, cumin, and salt
olive oil

for the chicken:
butter
1.5 boneless skinless chicken thighs (I just grabbed some out of the freezer and got a whole one and a half and decided it was enough for the two of us) (or 1 breast if you prefer)
1 heaping spoonful of minced garlic
lemon juice (i just used the lemon juice from the store rather than juicing another lemon)

for the burrito or wrap:
tortillas or flatbread -- tonight i used some spinach tortillas that I found at Walmart -- fantastic!
1 tomato (actually, you really only need half a tomato or so)

First cut your chicken up into little cubes. Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat, then add the garlic and cook for a couple minutes, until you start to see the garlic brown a little. Toss in your chicken, and squirt fairly liberally with the lemon juice. Stir once in a while while you're attending to the rest of the recipe.

Pour the entire contents of your can of chickpeas into a small saucepan, juice and all. Bring to a boil and boil for about six minutes.

While your chicken is cooking and your chickpeas are boiling, juice your lemon (I had a medium lemon and it yielded just under 1/4 cup of lemon juice). If you have a juicer attached to a cup to catch the juice, like I do, add the lemon juice to your food processor last, to make sure that everything that is going to drip through has had a chance.

Measure your 1/4 cup tahini and place into your food processor or blender. Add cilantro and cumin. I didn't measure those (I rarely measure herbs) but if you're not used to using them, be careful. They are both pretty potent, and you don't want to overdo it. Be especially careful with the cumin. Now add your juice of the lemon. Don't blend yet.

Chop your tomato.

When your chickpeas are done, drain them in the colander. I've found that you don't want to add all of them to the food processor at once, at least if you have a smallish one like I do. So add about 1/4 of the chickpeas, blend, stop, mix it up, maybe add some more, blend, stir. Here's where the olive oil comes in.

Originally this recipe called for more tahini, but we didn't like quite ALL that sesame flavor, so I cut back on the tahini and I substitute olive oil as needed to make the consistency come out right. So I would add some chickpeas, blend, stir, add some olive oil some more chickpeas, and so forth. I know this sounds complicated and time consuming, but it really isn't. I was done with this part in a matter of minutes. I wasn't measuring the olive oil, but I'm guessing I used 1/3 cup or so, when all was said and done.

Don't worry about trying to get it completely smooth. You will end up with a few chickpeas still intact, or nearly intact, but it actually enhances the dish, in my opinion.

By now, your chicken is cooked, so drain that too. Now lay out one of your tortillas on a plate. Here's the part that is difficult to explain, if you don't know how to roll a burrito. I tried to find a video for you online, but none of them roll the way I do. I'm not saying my way is better, and if you have a way you like, then by all means, go for it! (My husband used to work at Moe's, and he actually rolled the one in the picture, so it's probably not my method either, but if anyone wants to know how to make it look like the one in the picture, I will ask him and post it)

At this point, basically, you make a burrito by smearing some hummus on the tortilla, topping with chicken and chopped tomato, then rolling it up. I like to fold one side up, turn the plate, and then roll fairly tightly till it's a burrito. Simple, but pretty effective. I know a lot of people like to fold both sides up and make both end tucked in, but I like the front open, myself.

One more thing! The recipe that I adapted the hummus from called for 1/2 a lemon, not a whole lemon, and they weren't expecting it to be served with garlic lemon chicken. So, if you're not crazy about lemon, season your chicken some other way, and cut the lemon back to a half. Just know you might have to add more tahini or olive oil to make the consistency come out right. As it is, this recipe is NOT a subtle one. ;) But it is SOOO tasty! Like I said, I didn't think I liked hummus at all, and I polished off my dinner burrito. Oh, and this reheats pretty well, as I discovered when I decided to eat half of the burrito in the picture later. ;) It was that good. I challenge you to try it!