A homemade quesarito

WordPress just wished me happy anniversary… I’ve been blogging here for about a year. For no particular reason, I’m celebrating with this possible abomination: the quesarito – a humongous burrito made with a quesadilla.

Apparently, this was invented, or likely reinvented, by a Chipotle Mexican Grill customer; I wouldn’t be surprised if it was conceived drunkenly. It has achieved an underground following with accompanying rumors of its legitimacy, as was pointed out last week by a friend who posted this article: “The Mystery Behind Chipotle’s Secret 1,500-calorie Super Burrito“. Anyway, I’m not a regular customer, so I thought, “Why not just make this at home?” I’m pretty sure that my vegetarian version is trimmed down from their 1,500 calories, but perhaps not by much. The two 10-inch tortillas, alone, contribute 180 calories each, yet these are smaller than what Chipotle uses.

To start, I sautéed green pepper, red pepper, and red onion pieces in a bit of oil. Then I added a can of rinsed black beans, and stirred in a couple teaspoons of adobo seasoning and a touch of salt. The amount shown here is plenty for two burritos.

Sautéing vegetable filling and warming tortillas

Meanwhile, I made a simple “double” quesadilla from two large flour tortillas, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and dried cilantro leaf. I say “double,” because I typically make a quesadilla with just one tortilla, folded in half over the fillings.

Be sure not to make it too crispy, so that it won’t crack when wrapping the burrito.

Making the cheese quesadilla

Additional ingredients included: finely sliced romaine lettuce, ripe avocado, sour cream, Penzey’s Adobo seasoning, and Trader Joe’s awesome Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce.

Ingredients

Once the quesadilla was ready, the filling ingredients are piled on.

Quesarito in progress

Because this wrapping tests the structural limits of the tortillas, I also wrapped it in foil, just like, umm, the finest restaurants do.

That’s a wrap

That’s it: if you followed along, you’ve probably just made something you should be ashamed of, unless it’s your meal for the whole day.

Que sera sera: Quesarito

So, now the next time you need to add 400+ calories to your burrito, you know exactly what to do. :)

Here is the article that inspired this concoction:

• The Mystery Behind Chipotle’s Secret, 1,500-Calorie Super Burrito

P.S. If you’re a fan of stuffing things inside other things, you might like my “walking enchilada” as well: an enchilada stuffed in a breakfast burrito.

The Walking Enchilada

Perhaps next year, I’ll do a Tex-Mex turducken: an enchilada inside a burrito, inside a quesadilla… because that just totally makes sense.