Black Bean and Chorizo Quesadillas with Sweetcorn Salsa

How's that for a slice of fried gold?

A type of Mexican food I’ve never made before!! YAY!

I love Mexican food. I love it a lot. I once ate so much Mexican food it was painful to breathe, and I would do it again. And probably will. NO REGRETS.

The only thing that puts me off cooking Mexican cuisine at home is the time consuming nature. And that is where a quesadilla comes in. Cheese, tortillas, meat, cheese, beans, cheese, spices, more cheese. Cook, assemble and grill until cheese melted- so simple and quick. Obviously the beans in this recipe took a while (because they were dried) but you could use canned beans and cut the cooking time drastically. Or leave the beans and add more potato and onion and maybe throw in a pepper and other vegetables you have laying around.

The versatility of these bad boys knows no bounds. I think these will become a weeknight dinner staple for a long time and even just typing this I want to eat them again.

Serves 2-3 with leftovers

Ingredients for the black beans

• 250g dried black beans
• 1 small onion, halved
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 orange, halved

Ingredients for the quesadillas

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 medium potato, chopped into small cubes
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 200g chorizo, diced
• 250g cheese, grated
• Drizzle of oil
• 4 tortilla wraps

Ingredients for the salsa

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• Half a jalapeno, deseeded
• Pepper
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp good quality olive oil
• 1 small tin of sweetcorn, cooked
• 100g black beans (above)
• 4 tbsp pasatta
• 3 spring onions, chopped
• Salt to taste

Method

Begin by making the beans, as they will take the longest. Add beans to a pot and briefly rinse. 

Cover with 5cm of water. Chop and add in the orange, onion and smash the garlic cloves and throw those in too.

Put on a medium heat with the lid on until it comes to a rolling boil.

When boiling, remove the lid and turn down the heat. Allow to simmer for the next 2 hours, stirring every so often. Add more water if the beans become uncovered in water.

Once creamy and thick, and cooked through, remove the onion and orange. Grab out the garlic cloves if you can find them. Turn up the heat until the water surrounding the beans is thickened, then season with salt and serve.

I started the quesadillas when the beans had about 15 minutes left to cook.

Chop the potato into small pieces and fry in a little bit of oil until tender.

Remove from the pan, and add in the garlic and onion. Fry for 3 minutes until soft.

Chop the chorizo into small chunks and add into the pan alongside the potato. Stir well and let cook for 5 minutes.

Grate the cheese (my least favourite kitchen task to do) in preparation.

Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

To make the salsa, put the garlic, cumin, jalapeno and pepper in a pestle and mortar and bash until the garlic is completely crushed.

Stir in the lemon juice and oil.

Pour this over the cooked sweetcorn and stir through.

Then add the beans, pasatta and spring onions. Season.

Place a new large pan on the heat and assemble the quesadillas.

On one half, spread out the chorizo mix, top with the cooked beans, and then smother in a fistful of cheese. Fold the other half over and oil the tortilla lightly.

Place in the heated pan and cook for a few minutes each side until golden brown and crispy. Remove from the pan, plate up and cut in half.

Some of the filling may fall out when you flip it over. That's ok. Roll with it.

Repeat with the rest of the ingredients, there’s enough for four quesadillas here.

Serve all together. Would be delicious with a salad on the side or a smidge of rice. I also had guacamole with mine, because I use any excuse to eat an avocado.