Vegetarian Bean Quesadillas

October 3, 2008

I am trying a new style here for the recipes, where I narrate what I did instead telling you how to make it. I always felt it was a bit redundant to have the recipe explained and then have the printable recipe below, so maybe this will differentiate it a little and allow my thoughts and observations to come through more when cooking (not that my thoughts and observations are particularly insightful, but maybe they will keep other new cooks from making the same dumb mistakes I do).  Let me know what you think.

I made these vegetarian bean quesadillas about a week or two ago. They were pretty good and really easy, which makes it a great recipe to have in your repertoire for when you need a quick, delicious, and reasonably healthy meal.

I started out with some large flour tortillas (I actually recommend smaller, 6″ taco size ones because it will be much easier to maneuver and flip), a couple cloves of garlic, two fresh chiles (I don’t actually know what kind I had, you’ll want poblano’s or something similar), a can of black beans (the recipe recommends pinto), grated cheddar cheese, a couple small tomatoes, vegetable oil, salsa and sour cream.

I began by draining my black beans in a colander while I minced the garlic, finely chopped the chiles, having removed the seeds and stem, and cut the tomatoes into a medium dice. I also put my 12″ inch cast iron skillet over medium-low-medium (between medium-low and medium) heat with a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil in it.

With the skillet hot and my mise en place ready, I added the garlic and chiles to the skillet. I let these sauté for a couple minutes, until the chiles softened a bit, and then added my drained black beans. I just heated the beans until they were warm, and subsequently removed them to a separate bowl. At this point, I stirred in the tomatoes (an ingredient not called for in the original recipe), while I omitted a quarter cup of chopped cilantro, which is in the recipe. If you are using the cilantro, stir it in now.

With my skillet empty, I turned the heat to medium-low and re-oiled the skillet with just enough to coat the bottom. Then, I placed one tortilla in the skillet, added the bean-tomato filling on top, sprinkled on cheese, and finally topped it with a second tortilla. It cooked on the first side for probably a good 5 minutes (the recipe says it should only take 2). More or less you just want the cheese to begin to melt.

When the cheese started to melt, I flipped the quesadilla, a difficult task with large tortillas, and cooked it for another 2-3 minutes. I only repeated this once, since my tortillas were huge. Finally I removed it, cut it in half, and topped it with salsa and sour cream. Enjoy!

Tips

• The cilantro is definitely optional – I know some people hate it. I ended up adding a little bit of some random spice mix with the beans. I don’t think it added much.
• This recipe doesn’t take long if you have the tortillas and beans on hand.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-4 chiles, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup drained canned/cooked beans (pinto or black recommended)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• 1-2 small tomatoes, medium dice (optional)
• 8-10 small tortillas
• 1 cup grated Mexican cheese (cotija, queso blanco, cheddar, Monterey Jack)
• 1/4 cup salsa and sour cream (optional)

Recipe:

1. Drain your beans and prepare your mise en place. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil.
2. Add the garlic and chiles to the skillet and cook for a couple minutes, or until the chiles are slightly softened. Add the beans and cook until they are heated through. Remove the whole mixture from the skillet into a bowl and stir in the tomatoes and/or cilantro if desired.
3. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add vegetable oil to the skillet to coat the bottom. Lay one tortilla in the skillet, then top it with the bean mixture, cheese, and another tortilla. Cook for 2-5 minutes, or until the cheese begins to melt.
4. Flip the quesadilla and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted. Repeat and serve!

Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Posted in Recipes |