I require good Mexican recipes.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

I'm looking for a good, authentic (in the Californian, if not Mexican sense) burrito recipe. Much of what I find on the internet begins with "We like this much more than the frozen variety."

No. Anybody who would even consider frozen burritos to be in the same realm as a real burrito, well, I just don't know what to say.

Links to decent Mexican recipes, actual recipes, or repudiations for eletism welcome.

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1. Well here is my guacamole recipe.

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 lime
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic
1/4 cup green taco sauce - not red
4 large Haas avocados, very ripe
Fresh tortilla chips

Use only Hass avocados - do not use Fuerte, Bacon or Zutano avocados. Pinkerton avocados are acceptable if Hass are not available, but the results are best by far with Hass. When fully ripe, the avocados will be completely black on the outside, and soft but not squishy.

Squeeze juice from the lime into a bowl. Cut the squeezed lime peel in a few pieces, and drop into the lime juice. Add salt and mash lime peel down. Allow to sit for a few minutes to let the lime oil come out of the peel. Then discard the lime peel.

Use only fresh garlic. Mash the garlic with a garlic press, then add to lime juice mixture. Add the green taco sauce. A can of diced mild green chiles can be substituted for the taco sauce. Use a stronger taco sauce if you want it more spicy, but do not use red taco sauce or red chilis, as they will ruin the bright green color of the guacamole. Stir mixture until thoroughly mixed.

Cut avocados in half and remove pits. If there is any brown flesh on the inside, cut that away. The green areas in the same avocado is still perfectly usable. Using a knife, dice the avocado flesh while still in the shell, then scoop out with spoon and into the lime juice mixture.

Add diced avocado to the mixture, and stir just until it blends in. It should still have hundreds of tiny chunks of avocado throughout, it should not be a completely smooth paste. If you are a salt fiend, taste the guacamole and if it is not salty enough for you, add 1/4 teaspoon more salt. But the tortilla chips will also supply salt. Do not add cumin or any other seasonings. Do not add tomatoes!

Cover tightly and refrigerate for one hour. Serve within 4 hours of making it - it will only last one day. Serve with the freshest tortilla chips you can get - go to a Mexican bakery if possible. This recipe never fails - set it down at a party and watch it vanish within minutes.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

2. Unfortunately, I live in England.

I'll have to take whatever avocados I can get. :) But this sounds utterly mouth-watering.

In fact, my mouth is watering now. And all I have in the house at the moment is frozen pizza. For shame.

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3. You can make guacamole with any avocado, but the texture will only be right if they are Hass.

Fuertey, Bacon and Zutano avocados just don't have the creamy, oily texture. Right now, Hass avocados are being exported from Chile to various countries - I don't know if England is one. In the summer, California exports Hass avocados. I am lucky to live in the "Big Avocado" - San Diego County, which is a huge avocado-growing area (but that still doesn't make them cheap here!)

[Momgonepostal]

4. Can you buy prepared tortillas in England or...

do you need to make that too?

I don't have any burrito recipes, because for us they are one of those throw together kinds of foods, and we usually do it differently every time, depending on what we have.

My only strong feelings are that a burrito HAS to have beans. We buy either "refried" pintos in the can or black beans. We've used canned, and dried, just depending on what we have, the time we have, and what else we're making that week.

For a meat, we've used ground beef, chicken or beef cut into strips or even salmon.

I like a little rice in a burrito, but have also used fried, cubed potatoes.

We also put in a little mild cheese, usually Monterey Jack, but have been known to use mild cheddar when that's what we have.

Diced onions, diced tomatoes, salsa, lettuce, and guacamole are all good.

I'll look online too and see if I see any good recipes.

[Momgonepostal]

5. That looks like a great recipe, Bob!

I like that type of guacamole...simple and not a lot of extras.

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7. Thanks - the key is to really squeeze the lime peel, to get the lime oil out... and to

avoid over-mixing once the avocado is added. You don't want a puree, there should still be countless tiny chunks.

[Momgonepostal]

8. I like it chunky, too

Guacamole is one of life's finer things, IMO. :-)

[Momgonepostal]

6. OK, here are a few with a caveat

It is my understanding, and hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong, that burritos are really a "North of the Border" recipe. I've been to Mexico and never saw burritos on any menu. When I got back, I asked a friend who is from a town near Mexico City and she confirmed this. So no recipe you find will really be an authentic Mexican burrito recipe.

That said, the following looked good. You can add to the authenticity to making your beans (HUGE amount of work), your own tortillas, using a Mexican cheese like queso casera (sp?)and using fresh ingredients instead of canned whenever possible.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/230147

http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/1562/shredded-beef-burritos.html

http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/19869/fiesta-chicken-burrito.html

[UTUSN]

9. Well, *I'm* totally toasted (flamed) in the GD threads on the Mexican inauguration

http://redwing.hutman.net/%7Emreed/