Ingredients
5 1/2 ounces Wensleydale cheese, or cheddar at a pinch, crumbled
- 6 spring onions (scallions), sliced
- 1 pound 2 ounces home-cooked (or two 14-ounce cans of) black beans
- 4 to 5 pickled jalapeño peppers (from a jar), sliced (optional)
- Small handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 8 soft tortillas
- Olive oil
- Tomato salsa, to serve
- Guacamole, to serve
- 2/3 cup sour cream, to serve
Directions
1. Mix together cheese, spring onions, beans, jalapeños and cilantro leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Divide mixture among tortillas and fold them over to form a half moon shape. You can do this ahead of time.
3. Heat a ridged griddle or heavy-bottomed frying pan, no oil required, and then cook quesadillas 2 at a time.
4. Serve immediately or keep warm in the oven while you finish cooking the remaining quesadillas.
Recipe Alternatives
• Replace the black beans with refried beans.• Add some chopped chipotles en adobo or chipotle relish.• Use corn tortillas, as they do in Mexico where the quesadilla originated. Try tracking down some fabulous fresh ones.• Throw in some cooked chicken, beef or ham.More Recipes from The Better Bean Cookbook
• Chickpea, Beets and Feta Salad Recipe
• Black Bean Brownies Recipe
Reprinted with permission from The Better Bean Cookbook by Jenny Chandler, Sterling Epicure, 2014. Photography by Clare Winfield. Purchase this book from our store: The Better Bean Cookbook.
Legumes are just as versatile and delicious as any other main-course ingredient. Plus, they’re packed with fiber and protein. Discover a mix of 160 dishes made with beans, chickpeas and lentils in Jenny Chandler’s The Better Bean Cookbook (Sterling Epicure, 2014). The following recipe for black bean quesadillas is excerpted from “Fritters, Pancakes and Patties.”
This book can be purchased from the Mother Earth Living store: The Better Bean Cookbook
The Tex-Mex answer to a stuffed crêpe, this is a wheat-flour tortilla stuffed with cheese and whatever else comes to hand. American recipes call for Monterey Jack cheese or sometimes cheddar, but Wensleydale works wonderfully here. The black beans make these quesadillas more substantial. Plus, this recipe is great for a brunch thanks to all the guacamole, salsa and sour cream trimmings.
