Happy Weekend: Black Bean Quesadillas

Welcome to our (real) first food blog post!  Hopefully I will not shame my ancestors by failing to bring it.  It being deliciousness.


Friday nights are kind of my favourite - I am old enough both in body and mind to feel no guilt whatsoever in passing up a night of drinking for a quiet night at home with just my dog for company.  I tend to celebrate the end of the week with something tasty, and today I was extra-celebrating because I bought a new bike AND managed to get it home in the trunk of my Honda Civic without destroying anything at all.  Success!  Of course the dog is scared of the bike but you can't have everything, Alana - deal with it.


Anyway, it was after 8pm by the time I managed to get everything unpacked and got to work on my dinner.  Tonight I decided to make black bean quesadillas from my new favourite cookbook, Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi (seriously, it's amazing and you should go now and buy it).  


This was really a very quick and easy recipe, and super healthy as well.  Coming off of trips to St. Louis and culinary gluttony in Vancouver I am being extra vigilant with my diet and this meal fit the bill perfectly.


First step was to make the bean goo.  To make this happen, all I had to do was just toss a few ingredients into my trusty food processor and go to town - it came out really tasty but very cilantro-y - beware, cilantro haters (why you be hatin'?).

Yummy bean goo

Next I tossed together the ingredients for the salsa - nothing too out there but it was a respectable version, which is pretty good when you consider that the author of the cookbook is an Israeli/Londoner with a strong Mediterranean influence.  I liked the addition of the avocado, although I still prefer my salsa.  It has tequila in it, so I think you know why.

Everything's better with avocado.  Except maybe genocide.

Finally, you just tossed both finished products onto a tortilla with some grated cheddar and jalapenos and tossed that guy in the pan (or on the BBQ).  One flip later, and you're there.  I even went with full fat old cheddar because, hey! it's the weekend.  I'm crazy like that.

Ready to go on the grill, nom

Final product!  It took a lot less time to eat than make, but I think that's standard.

I give this recipe five sombreros out of five - quick, tasty, healthy and pretty.  Also, while chefing it up I had a Mill Street Lemon Tea beer, the greatest of summer beers, so that could have clouded my judgement a bit.  Overall though, definitely recommended and you need to buy that cookbook.  What?  You still haven't?  Stop reading this right now and go and do that.


Alana

Can you use the word chef as a verb?

I guess we'll find out!