There isn’t an abundance of tasty vegetarian friendly mexican food to be found in Melbourne. The few exceptions being Mamasita (provided you can get a seat)  for amazing corn on the cob and Trippy Taco for their smoky Tofu Asada tacos. So I thought that instead of trying to find spicy mexican fare in a restaurant, I would have a crack at creating it at home instead.

My man Ottolenghi delivered once again with this excellent recipe from his cookbook Plenty. These quesadillas were relatively easy to make, the most time-consuming step being cooking the black beans. You can adjust the spice level by reducing/increasing the amount of chilli or have a handy bottle of hot sauce nearby to add that extra kick (the El Yucateco Green Habanero Sauce is my fave!)

The balance of the fresh salsa and the melted cheese and sour cream made these quesadillas a brilliant start to my mexican cooking adventure.

Ingredients

8 tortillas

180ml sour cream

120g Cheddar cheese (grated)

Jalapeno peppers (from a jar)

Black bean paste

230g cooked black beans

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

bunch of coriander (chopped)

juice of 1 lime

1/4 tsp salt

Avocado salsa

1/2 red onion (thinly sliced)

1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar (I used champagne vinegar as I had it on hand and it gave a lovely sweet taste)

4 tomatoes (chopped)

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

1 red chilli (finely diced)

bunch of coriander (finely chopped)

3/4 tsp salt

juice of 1/2 lime

2 ripe medium avocados

Method

  1. For the black bean paste, place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you have a fine paste.
  2. For the avocado salsa – combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Heat a griddle pan or barbecue until it’s hot.
  4. To prepare the quesadillas, take one of the tortillas and spread with 2 tbsps of the black bean paste, creating a large circle in the middle with a clear edge. Over half of this bean circle, spread some sour cream, sprinkle some Cheddar cheese, add a tablespoon of the salsa and jalapenos to taste. Fold over the other tortilla half.
  5. To cook, place the quesadillas on the grill/barbecue and cook for 2-3 mins on each side until the tortillas are charred and the cheese is melted inside.

Serves 4.