Oven-baked red kidney bean and cheese quesadillas

Name: Oven-baked red kidney bean and cheese quesadillas
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 38 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: world favourites
Ingredients: 240 g Soft pareve wheat tortillas (6 medium 40 g tortillas (20 cm), 3 per person, from a pack of 8); 400 g Tinned red kidney beans, drained (400 g rinsed and drained, from 2 tins; use the remaining 100 g in a salad or soup the next day); 100 g Kashkaval cheese (250 g piece) (100 g, grated, for flavour); 60 g Grated pizza mozzarella (200 g bag) (60 g, for stretch; or replace both cheeses with 160 g grated gvina tsehuba); 30 g Extra virgin olive oil (3 tbsp: 15 g to cook the beans, 15 g to brush both sides of the quesadillas); 80 g Red onions (½ onion: 40 g in the beans, 40 g in the salsa); 10 g Garlic (2 cloves, crushed, for the beans); 3 g Ground cumin (1 heaped tsp); 2 g Smoked paprika (1 level tsp); 0.5 g Hot red chilli powder (1 pinch, for the beans); 5 g Fine salt (1 level tsp: 3 g in the beans, 2 g in the salsa); 60 g Water (4 tbsp, to loosen the beans in the pan); 200 g Tomatoes, vine or round (1 large firm tomato); 10 g Hot green chillies (½ green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped; use 5 g for a milder heat); 80 g Lime (1 lime: the zest for the beans, 18 g juice (from one half) for the salsa; discard the skin and pips); 12 g Fresh coriander (a small handful of sprigs (¼ bunch), leaves washed and dried); 60 g Labneh, 5% fat (250 g pot) (2 heaped tbsp, served alongside with a pinch of lime zest)

dairy main dish · world favourites · 1/5 · very easy · 38 min, including 25 hands-on

Crisp, brown-speckled tortillas filled with red kidney beans cooked with onion, garlic and cumin, and stretchy melted cheese, served with a fresh tomato, green chilli and lime salsa.

Ingredients for two

240 g	Soft pareve wheat tortillas 6 medium 40 g tortillas (20 cm), 3 per person, from a pack of 8
400 g	Tinned red kidney beans, drained 400 g rinsed and drained, from 2 tins; use the remaining 100 g in a salad or soup the next day
100 g	Kashkaval cheese (250 g piece) 100 g, grated, for flavour
60 g	Grated pizza mozzarella (200 g bag) 60 g, for stretch; or replace both cheeses with 160 g grated gvina tsehuba
30 g	Extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp: 15 g to cook the beans, 15 g to brush both sides of the quesadillas
80 g	Red onions ½ onion: 40 g in the beans, 40 g in the salsa
10 g	Garlic 2 cloves, crushed, for the beans
3 g	Ground cumin 1 heaped tsp
2 g	Smoked paprika 1 level tsp
0.5 g	Hot red chilli powder 1 pinch, for the beans
5 g	Fine salt 1 level tsp: 3 g in the beans, 2 g in the salsa
60 g	Water 4 tbsp, to loosen the beans in the pan
200 g	Tomatoes, vine or round 1 large firm tomato
10 g	Hot green chillies ½ green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped; use 5 g for a milder heat
80 g	Lime 1 lime: the zest for the beans, 18 g juice (from one half) for the salsa; discard the skin and pips
12 g	Fresh coriander a small handful of sprigs (¼ bunch), leaves washed and dried
60 g	Labneh, 5% fat (250 g pot) 2 heaped tbsp, served alongside with a pinch of lime zest (optional)

Method

Cut two sheets of baking paper to fit the oven trays and lay them on the worktop. Rinse the beans and drain well. Finely chop the red onion, crush the garlic, grate the kashkaval and mix it with the mozzarella. Zest the lime, reserving a pinch for the labneh, and squeeze one half.
Make the salsa straight away so it has time to rest: cut the tomato into 5 mm dice, removing the watery gel around the seeds, deseed and finely chop the green chilli, and chop the coriander. Mix with 40 g onion, the 18 g lime juice and 2 g salt. Leave for at least 10 minutes: the salt draws juice from the tomato to bind the salsa, and the onion loses its sharpness.
Put both empty trays in the oven and preheat to 220°C fan. This takes 10–12 minutes, enough time to make the filling and fill the tortillas, and the trays need to be very hot. Heat 15 g oil in a 26 cm frying pan over a medium heat and cook the remaining 40 g onion for 2 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika and ground chilli and stir for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Immediately add the beans, 60 g water and 3 g salt, then mash with a fork in the pan for 3–4 minutes: the mixture should be thick, hold its shape and no longer run. Take off the heat, add the zest and taste: it should be well flavoured on its own.
If the tortillas have been refrigerated, warm them in the microwave for 10 seconds under a damp tea towel so they fold without cracking. Divide the bean mixture into six equal portions (about 80 g, 2 heaped tbsp) and spread over one half of each tortilla in a 5 mm layer, leaving a 1 cm border. Sprinkle each with one-sixth of the cheese. Fold into a half-moon and press flat with your hand. Using the remaining 15 g oil, brush one side, place it oiled side down on the baking paper, then brush the top. Arrange three half-moons on each sheet.
Remove the hot trays using oven gloves, slide the loaded sheets onto them and immediately return both trays to the oven for 8–10 minutes, without turning the quesadillas: the hot trays sear the undersides while the fan heat browns the tops. They are ready when both sides are golden, speckled with brown and crisp to the touch, and the cheese stretches at the edges. If one tray is browning more slowly, swap the trays after 6 minutes.
Leave on the trays for 2 minutes to let the cheese firm up, then cut each half-moon in two with a firm stroke of a large knife or a pizza cutter. Serve six triangles per person, with the salsa alongside to keep the tortillas crisp and, if you like, the lime-zest labneh for a cool contrast.

Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.

Lighter version

Soft pareve wheat tortillas : 160 g
Tinned red kidney beans, drained : 300 g
Kashkaval cheese (250 g piece) : 60 g
Grated pizza mozzarella (200 g bag) : 40 g
Tomatoes, vine or round : 400 g
Fine salt : 6 g
Labneh, 5% fat (250 g pot) : removed

In step 2, make the salsa with 400 g tomato, the same amounts of onion, chilli, coriander and lime juice, and 3 g salt.

In step 4, fill 4 tortillas: divide the bean mixture into four portions (about 90 g, 2 generously heaped tbsp), with one-quarter of the cheese in each. Arrange two half-moons per sheet.

In step 6, serve four triangles per person with a generous helping of salsa.

Less cheese and bread, more salsa; the pan-cooked filling keeps all its flavour. You still need two tins of beans: 300 g for the quesadillas and the remaining 200 g for a salad or soup the next day.

On your plate

Recipe

1037 kcal · protein 50 g · carbs 97 g · fat 48 g

Quantities per person

120 g Soft pareve wheat tortillas
200 g Tinned red kidney beans, drained
50 g Kashkaval cheese (250 g piece)
30 g Grated pizza mozzarella (200 g bag)
15 g Extra virgin olive oil
40 g Red onions
5 g Garlic
1.5 g Ground cumin
1 g Smoked paprika
0.25 g Hot red chilli powder
2.5 g Fine salt
30 g Water
100 g Tomatoes, vine or round
5 g Hot green chillies
40 g Lime
6 g Fresh coriander
30 g Labneh, 5% fat (250 g pot)

Cooking tips

Preheated trays are the key to crispness: they sear the undersides like a frying pan, so there is no need to turn the quesadillas. Without an oven, or for just two quesadillas, use a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes on each side, until both sides are speckled with brown. The bean mixture can be made the day before and keeps in the fridge for 3 days; then all that remains is to fill and cook the tortillas. With large 25 cm tortillas (60 g), fill 4 with one-quarter of the filling each. Grated Israeli gvina tsehuba is an excellent substitute for the kashkaval and mozzarella mixture.

Equipment : oven, 2 baking trays, baking paper and oven gloves, 26 cm frying pan, colander, fork or potato masher, grater, knife and chopping board, microwave and clean damp tea towel (optional, for warming the tortillas), pastry brush, large knife or pizza cutter

Mexican quesadillas de frijoles, baked on preheated oven trays.

Oven-baked red kidney bean and cheese quesadillas

Method

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On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

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