Black Bean Quesadillas

For Meatless Monday today, the day before Cinco de Mayo, I'm sharing my recipe for Bean Quesadillas. Well, really it was a non-recipe until I took the time to write it out. I can't remember when I made this up; I've been  making versions of this for years. Every time I serve it to anyone they comment on how good it is and it's so easy and quick to put together. Chances are you have everything you need in your pantry or fridge.

Customize the herbs and spices to your taste and of course choose your favourite toppings!

Black Bean Quesadillas

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

½ -3/4 cup medium prepared salsa (or to taste)

½ tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small onion (diced)

1 small bell pepper (any colour) (diced)

1 clove garlic (minced)

1-1½ teaspoons chili powder

½ teaspoon oregano

¼ -½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ -1 teaspoon cumin

Fresh chopped cilantro, to taste

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Flour tortillas

 

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat; add onion, garlic and bell pepper, sauté for several minutes until onion is translucent and pepper is tender crisp.

 

2. Add beans and then spices and mix to combine, heat until beans are warm. Add salsa, adding more if necessary to make the mixture slightly saucy, but still chunky. Cook until heated through and slightly bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro.

Sometimes I switch it up by subbing zucchini for the peppers. Those black strips are kombu (kelp) - I'll explain those in a separate post (they get taken out before eating.)

 

3. In a separate non-stick skillet on medium heat (use the same burner), place a tortilla and fold it over. Sprinkle some cheese on the half tortilla, top with bean mixture, then add more cheese. Fold over the tortilla. 

4. Repeat with a second one in the same pan. Once the first side is brown, carefully flip over and brown the other side.

 

This is a much less messy way to cook the quesadillas and flip them. As well they cut nicely without too much of the filling oozing out!

5. Once done, place on cutting board and cut with a pizza cutter (or knife), serve with your favorite toppings and additional salsa if desired.

By the way, the filling is a great anything goes recipe, it doesn't have to be used exclusively for quesadillas. You can use it burritos and roll them up or as pictured below I used it with corn tortillas spread with some guacamole; really yummy!

 

Have a Happy Cinco de Mayo!

© Kooks in the Kitchen. 2015.