The Mac and Cheese Burrito...

Okay, there is nothing - and I mean absolutely nothing - even remotely healthy about the following recipe. It doesn’t matter if you make your own home-made vegan sausage, use gluten-free noodles, or whole wheat tortillas, just stop pretending you can justify it, I mean it’s mac and cheese in a burrito!  Anyway, who cares which side of the healthy living spectrum this fall on anyway, if you eat a healthy whole foods most of the time like I do then you deserve a little indulgence now and again.

On our latest trip my husband and I indulged a lot, especially in Toronto and Montreal - there are just too many amazing vegan options in both cities to worry about health, and waistlines, and keeping on the straight and narrow. We stuffed our faces with every bizarre, grotesque, outrageous, creative, out of this world amazing vegan decadence that we could find, and we didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it. One such indulgence came to us via the wonderful Toronto Vegetarian Festival. The food court was packed with tons of great options - several healthy ones too - but one place I knew I had to stop was Hot Beans. For those unfamiliar Hot Beans is a little take-away place in Kensington Market in Toronto that gets rave reviews for their creative burritos, and tacos. This is one place I really wanted to go but since we had limited time in Toronto I wasn’t able to go to their actual Kensington Market location - lucky for me they were at the Festival and so after some deliberation we ordered the Mac and Cheese Burrito. We ordered this for two reasons 1) It sounded bizarre and possibly disgusting. 2) The sheer novelty is too much to ignore. Of course we were blown away by this crazy concoction, and I am now convinced that I have a real talent for sniffing out the most insane - but can’t believe how good they are - dishes.

We talked about this burrito repeatedly throughout the trip, and I do mean repeatedly. Even after we got home my husband would look at me and say “Remember that mac and cheese burrito?” Well, who could forget? Finally to satiate our desire I decided to get creative myself and see if I could make a passable version at home. I have to say that for a first attempt this was pretty damn good. It wasn’t spot on, it wasn’t exactly like Hot Beans - it wasn’t quite as good - but it was definitely good! Mouth-watering, delicious, satisfying, and that’s all that we were really looking for. I’m hoping to experiment around a little more with this recipe in the future but for now, I give you my version of the Mac and Cheese Burrito.

The Mac and Cheese Burrito

1 Batch Creamy Macaroni and Cheese - or your favorite Mac.
4 Field Roast Frankfurters sliced into rounds - Or other vegan hot dog.
1 Batch Crispy potatoes - recipe follows
4-6 Whole What or Gluten-Free Tortillas

Crispy Potatoes 

3 Large Russet Potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1-2 tsp Liquid Smoke
2 Tbsp Potato Starch
Sea Salt, White Pepper, and Smoked Paprika to taste

- To make the Potatoes Preheat Oven to 450'F

- Combine all ingredients - except potato starch -  in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly to ensure all potato cubes are coated. Sprinkle in the potato starch and toss again to caot.

- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the potato cubes to a lightly greased baking sheet.

- Bake for 15 minutes then flip and bake another 15-20 minutes until potatoes are golden brown and crispy. Set aside and let cool.

- While Potatoes are cooking lightly spray a small skillet with non-stick spray and heat over medium heat. Add the Sliced Frankfurter rounds and fry for 3 minutes until brown, flip, and fry for another 3 minutes until brown and crispy. Remove from skillet and set aside.

- To assemble

- Lay one tortilla onto a plate.

- Top the tortilla with a generous spoonful of Crispy Potatoes.

- Add a spoonful of Sliced Frankfurter rounds.

- Top with 1-2 Generous scoops of Creamy Macaroni and Cheese.

- Fold the edges of the tortilla over and roll up like a burrito. Eat and enjoy!