Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas

I have had a hard time coming up with savoury recipes that don't include hummus or chickpeas in some form (some people smoke, others abuse chickpea dips, what can I say) but then these utterly delicious and chickpea-free quesadillas came to me in a flash of inspiration. A Pinterest flash that is- always my runner-up source of vegspiration. (Instagram comes first!) They're filled with sweet, spicy, savoury amazingness and topped with a goddamn gorgeous green guacamole. Add the simplicity and I know that this will nick a place as one of my top ten lunch recipes.

Make these for yourself, double the recipe and share with a friend or multiply the ingredients by ten and serve it on the buffet table! You could even prepare these the day before (without grilling them of course) and have them for lunch the next day at work or school! They're best eaten warm so a microwave oven would be a plus but they could absolutely be served cold as well, no problemo.

Hope you enjoy this recipe just as much as I did!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Yields: 1 serving

- 1 gluten free brown rice tortilla (or tortilla of your choice, I use BFree wraps)

- 1 small sweet potato (approx. 100 g when peeled)

- 4 tbsp canned black beans, drained and rinsed

- 2 tbsp tomato salsa/sauce

- 1 tbsp vegan sour cream (optional)

- A handful baby spinach leaves

A pinch each of: 

- dried coriander

- cumin

- paprika powder 

- salt

Guacamole:

- 1/2 avocado

- 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast

- 1 tsp lemon juice

- Salt and pepper to taste

- Dried chili flakes (optional)

How to:

1. Start by making your guacamole: Place all ingredients into a small bowl and blitz with a hand blender a few times. Intuitively, the longer you blend the smoother your guac will be so stop when you've reached the desired consistency. Set aside while you prepare the quesadillas.

2. Peel and slice the sweet potato thinly, then steam or boil the slices until they're soft enough to pierce with a fork. This will take approximately 5-10 minutes.

3. Mash the steamed sweet potato with a fork and spread it out evenly on half of the tortilla.

4. On the layer of sweet potato, divide the black beans evenly and sprinkle with cumin, coriander, salt and paprika powder.

5. Cover the other half of the tortilla with a layer of vegan sour cream mixed with tomato salsa and stick a handful of baby spinach leaves to it. 

6. Fold the tortilla in half and cut in 4 "pizza slices".

7. Grill in a grill pan (or a regular but then it won't be as beautifully charred) for a couple of minutes on each side, top with guacamole and serve!