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!

Soutzoukakia - Greek Meatball Bake #MeatMatters

If you regularly visit my blog you’ll know that I love Greek food so when fellow-blogger and long-time acquaintance and friend, Ruth from Rock N Roller Baby posted on Twitter about the BritMums and Simply Beef and Lamb #MeatMatters cookery challenge incorporating beef or lamb as an ingredient in a 30-minute meal, I knew instantly what I should share.

Soutzoukakia can be found all over Greece; and apparently the lightly spiced meatball bake was brought into Greece with the arrival of refugees from Asia Minor – or Smyrna, what is now known as Izmir. They are tender meatballs in a rich and intensely flavoured tomato sauce and they are delicious.

You can use pork, beef or lamb mince but I chose to use beef as it results in soft and tender, melt-in-the-mouth and really delicious meatballs. What’s more, beef is a rich source of protein and iron, so not only does it taste great, but it’s also good for you.

The soaking of a couple of slices of bread in red wine, seems a strange action, but please persevere, it really does make juicy and tender meatballs.

It’s not necessarily traditional to either bake or add the feta cheese to this dish, but it’s my twist and I think it is a great showcase of how versatile beef can be as an ingredient. Beef mince in particular is a great and adaptable ingredient – some other Greek dishes I make using beef mince include Moussaka, Pastitsio – The Greek Lasagne.

We had this with rice but if you had some fresh crusty bread, flatbreads or pitta these would be well appreciated to mop up the leftover juices which are so tasty. 

This is a great family meal to make with children too - it doesn't matter if the meatballs are oddly shaped, the children will love getting involved and be proud to serve up something they've made together too.

I made everything in the same skillet – first searing the meatballs on all sides and then removing them from the pan, as I think it adds a lovely flavour to the sauce and saves on washing up, but if you wanted to speed things up, prepare your sauce in a separate pan.

The below serves a family of with leftovers for lunch the next day and is ready in thirty minutes – if you don’t dawdle. 

Soutzoukakia - Greek Meatball Bake for BritMums #MeatMatters

Soutzoukakia - Greek Meatball Bake #MeatMatters

Here’s how:
The meatballs:

• 700g beef mince
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 2 slices bread (I use wholegrain) soaked in a couple of tablespoons of red wine
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• Lots of fresh black pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 egg, already beaten
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• Salt and black pepper

For the sauce:

• 1 carton passata
• 1 white onion
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ glass red wine
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp honey
• Pinch salt
• Generous seasoning of black pepper
• 100g feta cheese

Begin by removing the crusts from the bread and popping into a shallow bowl with the couple of tablespoons of red wine. Ensure they both become immersed. At this point turn the oven onto the highest setting – about 250.

Now place the olive oil into a skillet or pan on a gentle heat and begin making the meatballs

Mince the garlic and add to a large bowl. Add the mince, the cinnamon, cumin, salt, pepper, oregano and egg. Now break up the winey bread and add to the mixture and bring it all together. Do not be tempted to knead it for too long as it will become overworked and you’ll end up with tough meatballs.

Once the mixture is simply combined, begin by rolling out 12-15 long meatballs – in a kofte shape and setting aside. 

The prepared meatballs ready for searing #MeatMatters

Put the flour into a small bowl or plate and season with salt and pepper. Roll each meatball into the flour and add to the skillet to brown all over. 

Frying the soutzoukakia meatballs #MeatMatters

Turn them after 30 seconds or so and ensure they are sealed on each side of the meatball, but cooked through. Another tip is to not overcook at this stage – they will finish cooking in the sauce, and if you overcook now, again, you’ll end up with tough and chewy meatballs instead of melt-in-the-mouth.

Whilst the meatballs are cooking, finely dice the white onion and mince the garlic for the sauce and get the other ingredients ready – measure out the wine, grab the cinnamon stick and get the honey out ready.

Once the meatballs are browned, remove them and place onto a plate.

Now throw the onions and garlic straight into the skillet – you shouldn’t need any extra olive oil at this stage – but gauge it by what is left in the pan and obviously if you are using a different pan add 1-2 tbsp.

Once the onions are soft turn the heat right up and pour over the wine. Cook for a minute or so and then add the passata, cinnamon stick, tomato puree and honey and season generously.

Allow the sauce to cook at a high temperature for five minutes. Then return the meatballs to the pan and gently turn them over a bit so they are fully immersed in the sauce. Cook for a further few minutes.

Now take the feta cheese and simply break off chunks or crumble over the top – you want a mixture of some bigger bits and some tiny crumbles.

Now place into the now piping-hot oven for a final blast. This will only take a few minutes for the feta to melt down.

Remove from the oven and carefully place onto a safe surface as the skillet will be very hot, and serve over rice, mashed potato or even with pasta. Enjoy! 

Family meal time Soutzoukakia #MeatMatters

This post is an entry for the #MeatMatters Challenge, sponsored by Simply Beef and Lamb. Learn more about the benefits of cooking and eating beef and lamb along with recipe ideas and inspiration here! https://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/