Crispy Black Bean Quesadillas

For some reason I'm on this big tortilla/burrito/quesadilla quick the past few days. Yesterday I made bean and cheese burritos, today I made some breakfast burritos to freeze, and then made these black bean quesadillas for dinner.

These are really simple to make, and they are even Landon approved, which is saying a lot, people.

When I used to make these in America I made them using pepperjack cheese, and they were so.so.good. If you're in America, please go buy some pepperjack cheese for these. Alas, here in India, we had to settle for the processed cheddar cheese (sigh) and although they were still good, there's no lying saying they were AS good. 

But still. They're great. You should eat them.

I'm including directions below to make the black beans from dry beans, but if you have canned black beans you can just drain and rinse those.

I definitely recommend you include the step of putting a little olive oil on the skillet to crisp up the quesadillas. That crispiness just adds a whole new level of goodness to these.

Crispy Black Bean Quesadillas

1 Cup dry black beans (called jammu rajma in India)

1 small onion, finely chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 tsps cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

pepper

1 TBS butter

6ish tortillas

Shredded cheddar cheese

Olive oil

1. Cook the black beans if you're using dry. Soak your black beans in water for several hours. If you don't have a pressure cooker, soak them overnight, and then simmer them or cook them in a crock pot for several hours. If you have a pressure cooker (ABSOLUTELY the way to go cooking beans!!!), drain and rinse the beans from the water they soaked in, and then put in the pressure cooker with enough water to cover them by about an inch. Cook in the pressure cooker for 5-7 whistles.

2. Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add the minced onions and sautee for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes. 

3. Add the black beans into the pan, and also add all the spices. Let cook for 5-10 minutes just to get all the flavors together.

4. Heat a skillet/griddle pan over medium/high heat. Brush with a little bit of olive oil or drizzle just a few drops. Put a tortilla on the skillet and press down with a spatula/flipper to crisp up the first side, then flip the tortilla over. Sprinkle a layer of cheese, then spoon a spoonful of the black beans, then finish with another layer of cheese. Carefully fold the tortilla over in half and press down with the spatula to get it to stick. 

5. Cook the quesadilla for 1-2 minutes on the first side till it starts getting crispy on the outside and melty on the inside, then carefully flip it over to crisp up the second side.

6. Repeat with remaining tortillas, adding a little olive oil to the griddle with each new tortilla.

These would probably be even more delicious served with salsa, but hey, Kyle's out of town, so I"m doing good to make dinner for the kids and myself and not just order pizza, right?