A little more than a week ago, yours truly participated as a judge in a rice recipe contest at Arkansas Rice Expo 2014. You may not care about that, but if you’ve already taken a gander at that beautiful dish above this text, you may care a little more.
That dish, Grilled Rice and Black Bean Burritos with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce, was one of ten entered into the contest, and it just happened to be the winner as well. It was crafted by Tiffany Aaron of Cleburne County.
The contest called for participating cooks to create dishes centered around rice, obviously. The dishes were first judged on appearance and recipe, and then, the top five were devoured by me and two other judges — Emily Van Zandt of Sync Weekly and South on Main’s executive chef and co-owner Matt Bell — to be critiqued on taste.
During the interview portion of the contest, Aaron, a wife and mother of five, said she created the meal with the taste buds of a few of her picky-eating children and her Mexican food-loving family in mind.
Let me tell you, Aaron makes a mean burrito, and that’s not all she can do. To keep up with all of her cooking and recipes, check out her blog.
As part of her win, she received $200, a gift basket with rice and a spot in the 2015 Arkansas Rice Expo Cookbook. For more on the contest, click here.
I won’t hold out any longer. Here’s the recipe. Run to your nearest kitchen and make it now!
Grilled Rice and Black Bean Burritos with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce
The Ingredients:
-For the burrito:
•1 1/4 cup cooked white rice
•1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
•1 15.25 oz. can fiesta corn, drained
•1 15.5 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
•4 oz. pepper jack cheese, finely shredded
•1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
•1/4 teaspoon dried cumin
•1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
•1 tablespoon olive oil plus extra for grilling
•10 whole wheat flour tortillas
-For the dipping sauce:
•4 oz. cream cheese, softened
•1/2 cup sour cream
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
The Process:
Preheat the grill to medium/high heat. In a large bowl, stir together all burrito ingredients except for the flour tortillas. Place a slightly heaping 1/3 cup of mixture into the center of each tortilla. Roll up burrito-style and secure with a toothpick. Brush both sides with olive oil and place on hot grill. Cook until tortilla is crispy. Prepare dipping sauce by placing all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blending until smooth. Serves 10 people.