Thursday, September 24, 2009

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Zucchini Quesadillas with Chipotle Sour Cream


Random weeknight concoction that came out delicious! A coworker has been talking about a sweet potato and black bean quesadilla that she had recently and I realized I had the makings and then some at home! Love when that happens! The sweetness of the sweet potato combined with the tartness of the sour cream and spice of chipotle was awesome and really filling.

Ingredients

4 large tortillas
1 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large zucchini, chopped roughly
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed well and drained
1 large sweet potato
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
sour cream
2 teaspoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce pureed
kosher salt and black pepper

Begin by washing the sweet potato and poking a few holes in it with a fork. Place in microwave and cook for 7-10 minutes or until soft (the amount of time it takes will depend on how big your potato is). While the potato is cooking, heat a pan and the olive oil over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the zucchini, cumin, chili powder and cayenne and cook for two minutes. Add the garlic and black beans and cook the entire mixture for 1 minute more. Season with kosher salt and black pepper and remove from heat.

Take your sweet potato out of the microwave and let it cool.

While the veggie and bean mixture is working on the stove, mix 2 teaspoons of pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce into a half cup of sour cream (I use light-gotta cut calories wherever I can!). Most grocery stores sell small cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I take the entire can and puree it in my food processor and then freeze portions in a plastic wrapped lined ice cube tray. Individually wrap when frozen and you have a ready burst of chipotle when you need it! If you aren't familiar with chipotle, add a little at a time to the sour cream and taste it. Otherwise it could be spicier than you like.

When your sweet potato is cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise and peel off the skin (or leave it on if you want a little extra fiber!). Dice or slice the potato into small pieces.

Heat another skillet (a little large than the tortillas) to just below medium heat. Place one tortilla in the dry skillet and top with 1/4 cup of the cheese, half of the diced sweet potato, half of the zucchini and black bean mixture and another 1/4 cup of cheese. Top with another tortilla and let cook until the cheese melts and the bottom tortilla is stiff when you slip a spatula underneath (it will take 2-3 minutes for it to brown and crisp up). Flip quickly and cook the other side for another couple of minutes, or until slightly browned and crispy.
Turn onto a plate and repeat the process with the other 2 tortillas and the remaining ingredients. Cut each quesadilla into six pieces and serve with the chipotle sour cream.

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Mushroom Quesadillas on Foodista

9 comments:

Natalie said...

This looks fantastic!

I love sweet potatoes with black beans, or with any sort of tex mex flavors, especially tortilla soup Thanks for sharing and reminding me of one of my favorite flavor combination!

janet said...

Yummy, I love sweet potatoes in quesadillas!

Mother Rimmy said...

This looks wonderful. I love sweet potato! This is a new way for me to use one of my favorite ingredients!

Cookin' Canuck said...

Great combination of flavors! This is a wonderful way to make a healthy quesadilla.

Family Cuisine Food And Recipe said...

Looks good. Thank you for sharing. Cheers !

AndreaQ said...

Thanks everyone! Sweet potato goes good in almost everything, doesn't it?!

Hilary Havarti said...

Yum! Looks delish. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your note at http://www.weheartmacandcheese.com. Your blog is great!
Best,
Hilary

My Little Space said...

Really impressive! Delicious combo & I like seeing new ingredients & combinations.

sarah said...

Yum! This looks delicious!