Recently I was at County Flowers in Condon and ordered a grilled vegetable burrito and it was beyond delicious. Flavor burst with every bite! Why this delicious taste, I wondered? After all, it was just vegetables and cheese in a burrito shell. Would the chef tell me what was in this mysterious burrito? I couldn’t help myself. I was filled with curiosity and needed to know.
Putting my hesitation aside, I tracked down Jeremy, the chef. Fortunately for me he was gracious and disclosed the culinary secret. “It’s all in the sauce and the sauce is so simple to make,” he said. So how in its simplicity could it be so extraordinary?
After pondering that question for several days, I concluded that with simplicity comes a certain spaciousness. Each unique ingredient is free to fully express itself without the competition and overcrowding of many flavors. Each little flavor can be the star of the show. Never overlook the enormous power of simplicity.
A Simple Sauce
1 part mayonnaise
1 part ketchup
1 part dill pickle relish
I like to use Best Foods mayonnaise, after all, there must be a reason the company has been in business since 1912. I couldn’t find any dill pickle relish in our local stores so I added some sweet relish along with a few minced dill pickles.
Now that I had the recipe, I was anxious to try it out. I sliced some red, yellow and green peppers, onions and mushrooms, lined a cookie sheet with foil and tossed them with olive oil and kosher salt. Turned the oven up to 400⁰ and roasted them for about 25 minutes. I took a large burrito shell, sprinkled it with sharp cheddar cheese, and melted it in the microwave. Then I spread a couple of tablespoons of the sauce on it and added the grilled vegetables. It was as good as Jeremy’s, well . . . . almost.
Then I made fish tacos using some breaded fish. I chopped some green cabbage, cilantro, and tomatoes. I spread some of the sauce on the burrito shells, added the fish and filled them with the vegetable mixture, then sprinkled on some capers. Yum! Delightful!
This sauce could go on almost any kind of sandwich. A Reuben, a hamburger of course, grilled cheese, and I’m guessing tuna fish. The recipe is close to a thousand island dressing so I imagine it would be good on a tossed green salad too.
Having a simple sauce on hand is like having a magic wand. The wand adds sparkle and joy. Don’t let the sauce’s simplicity fool you. Leonardo Da Vinci once said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” I bet he would have loved Country Flowers veggie burrito.