If you grew up in Los Angeles, there were a million places to enjoy Mexican food! But if you grew up with a Mom that cooked 24/7, eating out did not happen too often. And I am so thankful for that now! One of the few places that my family enjoyed was Ramona’s Mexican Foods. They were popular for their huge burritos filled with beef and potato with green chile and beef chile rojo! Not to mention their chiles rellenos! I have a previous post on my blog about chile con carne y papas, and it’s delicious! I decided to try my hand again and recreating the shredded beef and potato dish that I gew up loving. The previous recipe contains way more green chile and less potatoes. I decided to try a different cut of beef and add extra potatoes. This was more like what I remember from the hot green potato and beef burritos. The recipe has so much flavor, that you honestly don’t need to many garnishes. My Dad was self employed and did many jobs for Ramonas in the 70’s. His main job, once a month, was grinding and polishing the large stones that were used in the tortilla making machines. I have vivid memories of my Dad in his garage chiseling the stones to perfection. If you ask me, that job was an art that not everyone could do. I honestly feel like I have captured a little bit of those delicious memories with this recipe. #foodieforlife #ramonasmexicanfood
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of beef previously cooked and shredded(beef filet flank steak or chuck roast). Today I used beef filet.
- 2 1/2 cups of beef stock
- 10 Anaheim or mild Hatch green chiles (or 2 cups store bought roasted and diced green chiles in a can)
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 large roma tomato roughly chopped
- 3 medium russet potatoes peeled and diced( 4 1/2 cups total)
- 3/4 tablespoon of ground cumin
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- Grapeseed or Olive Oil
Instructions
Directions
- Start by washing and peeling the potatoes. Dice the potatoes and transfer them to a bowl of cold water. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place all the green chiles on a baking sheet. Roast peppers for 15 minutes on each side, transfer plastic bag and let cool. Once cooled, peel blistered skins and remove the seeds and stems. Dice small or slice into very thin strips. Reserve 2 of the peppers aside.
- Preheat ¼ cup of oil in a deep skillet at medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Drain and then add the potatoes to the skillet with oil. Season w/ a little salt and pepper, cook until lightly browned and cooked through. Stir as needed. Remove 1/2 cup of potatoes and reserve.
- To the potatoes, add the onions and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the shredded beef, sliced green chile and beef broth. Stir well to combine. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- In the blender, combine tomatoes, reserved potatoes and reserved green chile. Add cumin. Blend on high until very smooth. Add to skillet, cover partially, continue cooking for 1 hour or until sauce reduces and becomes thick. Taste for salt as it simmers. Serve with rice and beans or prepare a giant burrito! Buen Provecho!
Notes
Minimal ingredients, but so much flavor in the end.
I was lucky enought o have some fresh made flour tortillas on hand. I love corn tortillas, but I really wanted to enjoy the potato and beef the way I remembered, in a burrito!
Super simple to serve. Fresh avocado and pickled jalapeños was all I needed. I enjoyed them thoroughly!
Next day, I lightly fried some flautas using flour tortillas and the beef and potato filling. I garnished with salsa, lettuce, tomato, onion and avocado!
Below is a picture of my Dad, Ramiro, working on one of his tortilla machines
Reader Interactions
Comments
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Thank you for sharing all your recipes! Yummy! Love that picture of your hard working father. Thank you again. Susan
Thank you Susan!
Do these taste like Ramonas beef and potato burritos? Thanks for the recipe sure looks great. I will be using an instant pot.
Hi Craig, this is a homemade version of Ramonas. I cannot promise they would be exactly like theirs. I don’t know their family’s recipe. It sure comes pretty close with those homemade tortillas. No complaints here.
I too grew up with Ramona’s but now live out of the area. Beef and potato burritos were my favorite. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Josie’s chicken tacos and Diana’s tamales were good too!
Last time I visited California, I had my sister take me to Ramona’s! Still soo delicious!
Love your story! I usually do a red sauce for my burritos but was looking for a different meat and potato burrito. Searched awhile looking at dozens of recipes and yours stood out! I’m making it right now. Mmmm can’t wait!
Thank you Shelly!
I used to travel to Mexico twice per year from 5th grade through my early 20’s. A pastors wife in Mexicali made a dish like this and I have been searching for a recipe forever. I’ve got it cooking now. I’m so excited. Thank you so much for sharing. ♥️
Hi Melanie! I am so happy you stumbled across my blog too! I appreciate your input!!
I am so excited to try this recipe. I am an African American woman born in Los Angeles now living on the East Coast. I am craving Ramonas and hit the internet to see if i can recreate the memories at home!
Hi Aisha! Thank you for taking the time to write! I miss Ramona’s too! This is why I was determined to try and recreate some of my favorite dishes from there.
Just made this one tonight! So good and the flavors are always sooo good! Thank you for another amazing recipe to add to my rotation!
FYI- very similar to the Ramona’s burritos!
Thank you Myrna! I miss Ramona’s food!