Recipe: Julia's Egg Burritos

Julia's Egg Burritos
rec.food.cooking/Ninette R Enrique
Makes 8 burritos

I was planning a brunch menu for my sister-in-law and came across a very versatile dish that can be made ahead and would be perfect for brunch: egg burritos or egg crepes. The idea is to make crepes out of scrambled eggs, stuff them with the filling of your choice, top with cheese, and heat them in the oven, preferably with a sauce.

The recipe below, which is Julia Child's, uses a stuffing of cottage cheese and scrambled eggs and a tomato sauce, but I would be quite partial to stuffing my burritos with crabmeat kissed with a touch of curry powder, tarragon and chives, and using a gruyere cheese sauce instead of a tomato sauce. Or a Western Omelette type stuffing of green peppers, onions, and ham; or sausage, potatoes, and cheddar cheese; or...

The possibilities are endless. A definitely fun and new variation of the old egg and bacon routine. And it will look nice on the table.

12 eggs
Seasonings: Salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce
1-2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Herbs: 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley and 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
2 cups fine tomato sauce
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

MAKE BURRITO SKINS: Whisk the eggs in a bowl with the seasonings to taste. Set a 6 in. non-stick frying pan over moderately high heat and brush lightly with butter. Pour in 1 1/2 Tbs. of egg and tilt pan in all directions to film the bottom. Cover the pan for a few seconds until the egg has set, then slide it out onto wax paper. Make 8 burritos skins in all.

MAKE SCRAMBLED EGG FILLING: Scramble the remaining egg mixture by placing fry pan over moderately low heat. Add enough butter to film the bottom and sides of pan. Pour in eggs. Slowly scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula from the edges to the center, continually until the eggs gradually coagulate (this will take 1-2 minutes, so don't rush them). Scramble until the eggs are softly set but not runny. Do not overcook.

Mix eggs with cottage cheese and herbs. Adjust seasonings to taste.

MAKE BURRITOS: Roll up a portion of scrambled egg in each burrito skin like an open-ended cigar.

Put tomato sauce in the bottom of a buttered baking dish. Arrange burritos on top. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

*Ahead of time note: May be prepared up to here in advance. Cover and refrigerate*

HEAT AND SERVE: Preheat oven to 450 deg. Shortly before serving, bake in the upper third level of the oven until the sauce bubbles and the cheese has melted (7-10 min.). Do not overheat!