I often share stories of what I’m preparing for dinner and this dish always makes my inbox explode! And rightfully so: these vegetarian quesadillas are easy to make with few ingredients and are so good, the kids lick their plates clean. It’s become one of our go to dishes!

What is a quesadilla?

Here in Belgium, where I’m from, not many people are familiar with the ins and outs of Mexican cooking, so I should probably define what quesadillas are first. A quesedilla is a tortillawrap filled with cheese and a savory mixture, folded, and usually fried. Traditionally, a quesadilla is made with chicken or minced meat, but in our experience it makes a great vegetarian dish too. We have also added quorn to the filling and it was nice but we like it just as much without. We have also tried to make it without cheese and used nutritional yeast instead. The quesadillas were still very tasty but we love cheese too much to leave the “quesa” out of “quesadilla”.

Filling:

The fun thing about quesadillas is, you can fill them up with pretty much anything, so they make a great “oops-I-didn’t-make-it-to-the-grocery store dinner”. We always have a few packets of tortillas in the pantry and together with some leftover veggies, any type of canned beans and some cheese they make a fine dinner.

Ideally I like to prepare them like this:

Bake finely chopped sweet potato, red onion and sweet pepper in a sauce pan with garlic and a country potato spice mix (I’m obsessed with one I buy at Coluyt from Ducros) When cooked, add a tin of beans. Like I said, pretty much any type of beans will do. I like black beans the most. Add some tomato sauce. Add corn and fresh, chopped cilantro. When I do get to the store, I like to buy refried beans. They give this dish an extra authentic, Mexican flavor.

RefriEd beans (We get them at albert heijn) give yoUr dish an auThentic mexican touch.

Quesadillas:

I prefer to use a skinny skillet to fry the quesadillas, like the one you’d use for crêpes. Turn up the heat and add some sunflower oil (or any oil that can handle high heat and is neutral in flavor). Now fill half of the wrap with the filling and top with cheddar (or any cheese you’ve got) and fold. This way the pan will fit two quesedillas folded in half at a time. Once the wrap hardens and the cheese melts, flip. (Flip with the closed side facing down, this way your filling won’t spill. Place on a wooden cutting board and cut into slices like you would a pie. Serve immediately. Tastes great with guacuemole and/or sour cream.

Roasted cauliflower

We like to have this dish with some rice and roasted veggies. The kids love roasted cauliflower with paprika powder as a side and I do too because it’s easy to make! Cut the cauliflower in chunks and hussle with some oil and paprika powder in a baking tray. Put in the oven (raw) for about 25 mins at 220°C. (Want to indulge? Serve with some mayo.)

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