Thursday 18 July 2019

Spicy Beef Quesadilla with Avocado Salad

These Spicy Beef Quesadilla are a really comforting dish to have on a work/school night and the accompanying creamy little salad works perfectly with it.

I've used beef mince here but you could just as easily use turkey, lamb, pork or chicken mince - but the beef work well with the level of spicing I've used. If you don't like much heat, adjust the spices accordingly and maybe remove the red chilli.

The below serves a family of four with a couple leftover to fight over.


Spicy Beef Quesadillas with Avocado Salad


Here's how:

  • Few sprays of Frylight Olive Oil or a drizzle of olive oil
  • 450g beef or steak mince
  • 1 large red onion
  • 1 large clove of garlic
  • 1 red chilli
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp hot paprika
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 1 red pepper
  • 250g mushrooms
  • Juice of half a lime
  • 1 can red kidney beans

  • x6 tortilla wraps
  • 1 ball Mozzarella
  • Handful of grated Cheddar


For the salad:

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 8 sweet cherry tomatoes
  • 1 small tin of sweetcorn (or one corn on the cob, cooked, and with the corn extracted)
  • Pinch sea salt
  • Juice of half a lime

Firstly prepare the beef by adding the Frylight or olive oil to a large wok or frying pan and placing on a low heat.

Peel and finely dice the onion, mince the garlic and slice the chilli (keep the seeds in for an extra kick) and add to the warm pan.

In the meantime, slice the red pepper and the mushrooms and set aside.

Once the onion mixture has begun to soften, add the mince to the pan, season well with the salt and pepper and use a wooden spatula to break up a little and ensure it cooks evenly all over.

After a couple of minutes in the pan, add the coriander, cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper and mix well.

Allow to cook until the meat is completely browned off and then add the red peppers, red kidney beans, mushrooms and the tomato puree; mix well and then allow to cook for another 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime prepare the salad by firstly removing the flesh of the avocados and placing into a small bowl. Use the back of a fork to carefully mash the avocado - you don't want a complete puree here, so go easy. Chop the cherry tomatoes up into small pieces and add to the avocado and then add the corn too. Squeeze over the lime juice, season with sea salt and mix gently and the salad is ready.

Now take the Mozzarella ball, and very thinly slice and set aside.

To make the quesadilla, firstly place the frying pan on a medium heat and add a couple of sprays of the Frylight.

Now place one tortilla wrap into the pan, with half on the pan side - you can use a knife or a spoon to prevent the other half going into the pan. Work quickly here. Now spoon over a generous portion of the spicy beef mix and ensure the half of tortilla is well covered. Top with a little Mozzarella and grated Cheddar, fold the other half of the tortilla over and fry for 3-4 minutes until nicely golden brown.

Now carefully use a fish slice and/or spatula to turn the tortilla over and cook on the other side until golden and the cheese has just melted.

Remove from the pan carefully placing onto a wooden board or plate and pop into the oven on a low heat to keep warm.

In the meantime, be assembling the next quesadilla in the pan repeating the process until all are cooked.

Now slice each quesadilla in half or smaller pieces for any little ones, and place onto a plate, stacked up with a couple of spoonfuls of the avocado salad. Enjoy!

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