Tucson Breakfast Burro

An egg breakfast was once dubbed heart-stopping, but we now know that the egg's cholesterol needn't be a liability. Experts say one a day is OK, and its protein can keep you full until lunch. This burro — too big on satisfaction to be called a burrito — partners eggs with another protein player: lean machaca, a beef filling borrowed from Mexican ranchers. Adapted from A Real American Breakfast by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison (William Morrow), this dish will give you the energy to wrangle presents for even the toughest-to-buy-for relative. hide ›

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
2. 1/2 medium onion, chopped
3. 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded, cored and chopped
4. 1 1/2 lb thickly sliced lean deli roast beef, cut into matchsticks (or a 15-oz can black or pinto beans, drained, for machaca for a nonmeat protein)
5. 3/4 cup lowfat, low-sodium chicken, beef or vegetable broth
6. 2 cups bottled tomato salsa
7. 1 cinnamon stick
8. 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white, whisked lightly
9. 6 thin flour tortillas, warmed

Directions

1. To make machaca, heat oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add onion and pepper and sauté about 3 minutes.
2. Stir in meat and continue sautéing until meat is brown and crispy but not burned. (Scrape meat from the bottom occasionally.)
3. Stir in broth and 1/2 cup salsa and add cinnamon stick. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to medium and cook until most of the liquid evaporates but the meat remains moist. Salt to taste.
4. Remove cinnamon stick. Mix eggs into machaca and continue cooking 1 or 2 minutes until eggs are just firm. Spoon 1/6 mixture onto each tortilla and roll up.
5. Place on a plate and spoon remaining salsa over each burro.

Notes