So I am a pesto making freak....I don't know what took me so long to create a cilantro pesto. I knew I wanted it to incorporate pepitas(pumpkin seeds),something found in traditional Mexican food, which is my husband's heritage. I also knew I wanted the bright flavours of cilantro to shine in this so I opted to pair it with lime and eliminate peppers, a night shade vegetable which some in my family are sensitive to. The first time I made it I got a huge thumbs up from my husband and my family who were visiting for the day who devoured it. I decided I wanted to pair it with burrito bowls. We ended up eating burrito bowls for 3 nights. I decided that burrito bowls and this cilantro pesto were going to be on my menu every other week. The cilantro pesto can be used as a dip with tortilla chips, on tortas (Mexican style sandwiches), atop Mexican tortilla soup or as a sauce for soba(Buckwheat) noodles. So easy and fresh and well, just plain wonderful. I prefer to make my own beans as it isn't difficult and they taste so much better than canned. However, you can absolutely use canned in these. I have not included the prep time for scratch made beans in this however. I will work on adding a from scratch black bean recipe to my blog. Until then, feel free to email me therocksanddirtbakery@gmail.com and I can send you a recipe. You can use any protein in this, vegetarian or otherwise. I made mine with Instapot shredded Barbacoa, which can be made with beef or pork.
Chop all of the toppings and set aside. Cut the meat(if not making vegetarian) into large chunks and place in your pressure cooker. Place the rest of the ingredients for the barbacoa in a food processor or blender and pulse/blend until you have a rough paste. Pour this over the meat.
Seal your pressure cooker. If you are using an Instapot press the "Meat/Stew" button and manually adjust the time to 60 minutes. Once the cook time has elapsed, allow the steam to release naturally.
Remove most of the juice and meat and set aside. Once it has cooled a bit, remove the meat chunks and shred. Pour some of the marinade back over the shredded meat.
Rinse your rice in a sieve. Place the rinsed rice in a medium pot and cover with twice the amount of water(so for 3 cups rice 6 cups water). Add the garlic. Bring to a boil and then turn down to low and cook another 15-20 minutes. Fluff the cooked rice and mix in salt and pepper, lime zest and juice and chopped cilantro.
Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse/blend until you have a fairy smooth mixture. Don't blend it until it's a green paste you still want some texture to it. Place in a sealed glass jar until ready to use. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Assemble your burrito bowls, with rice and beans and meat as your base and then adding all your toppings.
Ingredients
Directions
Chop all of the toppings and set aside. Cut the meat(if not making vegetarian) into large chunks and place in your pressure cooker. Place the rest of the ingredients for the barbacoa in a food processor or blender and pulse/blend until you have a rough paste. Pour this over the meat.
Seal your pressure cooker. If you are using an Instapot press the "Meat/Stew" button and manually adjust the time to 60 minutes. Once the cook time has elapsed, allow the steam to release naturally.
Remove most of the juice and meat and set aside. Once it has cooled a bit, remove the meat chunks and shred. Pour some of the marinade back over the shredded meat.
Rinse your rice in a sieve. Place the rinsed rice in a medium pot and cover with twice the amount of water(so for 3 cups rice 6 cups water). Add the garlic. Bring to a boil and then turn down to low and cook another 15-20 minutes. Fluff the cooked rice and mix in salt and pepper, lime zest and juice and chopped cilantro.
Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse/blend until you have a fairy smooth mixture. Don't blend it until it's a green paste you still want some texture to it. Place in a sealed glass jar until ready to use. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Assemble your burrito bowls, with rice and beans and meat as your base and then adding all your toppings.