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!

A London Lunch No. 10: Wahaca – Mexican Street Food

So I’m heading to Mexico this weekend for this first time and on a recent holiday retail jaunt to Westfield Stratford with the boyf, we decided to get in the mood for the Mexican cuisine by heading to Wahaca.

The rapidly expanding chain has Thomasina Miers' name to it, and has been a firm casual favourite of mine for a few years – having spent many a lunch hour in the Covent Garden branch. This was the boyfriend’s first time at Wahaca and he has been quickly converted to this style of eating small plates as and when they arrive at the table, according to the varying cooking times.

We ordered some Guacamole with Tortillas and a Citrus Fizz each whilst we mulled over the menu. The guacamole was chunky, flavourful, citrusy and with that all-important chilli kick – absolutely delicious. The Citrus Fizz is like an innocent version of a mojito – sparkling water over crushed mint and lime – utterly refreshing and moreish.

We chose six small dishes – all priced very reasonably under the £4.50 mark. The first is my favourite – I cannot enter Wahaca without ordering it – the Pork Pibil Tacos. You get three mini soft corn tacos topped with the most delicious slow-cooked pork which is in a salty, smoky and meaty juice and topped with sweet, pickled pink onions and zingy coriander. It is completely unpretentious but one of the most satisfying little plates of food. We also had the Chicken Tinga Tacos – these again were topped with shredded, slow-cooked chicken in a barbecue style sauce topped with chilli and crema – and it was sensational.

 

We tried the Ceviche Tostadas as well, a first for me at Wahaca, and whilst it was pleasant enough, I probably wouldn’t repeat. Fresh and fragrant it was, but having eaten such great alternatives at Ceviche and Lima recently, it just didn’t live up to those standards. There was very little flavour from the scallops which was disappointing – Glen loved it though, so maybe give it a try.

Another first for me was the Potato and Chorizo Quesadilla. This had a lovely smoky taste running through from the chorizo and the melted cheese made it feel quite naughty but very, very nice. I have to say this, like a good slice of pizza, tastes oh so much better if eaten with your hands – it’s one of those kind of dishes.

Our final two dishes were the Marinated Chicken Taquitos and the Green Rice – both of which were good. The taquitos had the most fragrant, moist and tasty chicken inside and were topped with a refreshing citrusy green salad and a generous topping of crumbly and delicious Lancashire cheese – gorgeous. The rice is a beautiful looking little plate; blitzed coriander and onion make for the unmistakable flavours and colours of Mexican cuisine – once again showing that a simple dish can be so, so good. 

‘Simple yet satisfying’ is the mainstay of Wahaca and it never disappoints for me. I have enjoyed many a lunch at the various outposts and I’m sure I will continue to do so. There are tons of Mexican restaurants and burrito bars in London these days and I have tried a good selection, but what Wahaca has above most that I’ve tried, is you don’t come away with that awful bloated feeling and I think this had a lot to do with the quality of the ingredients and the freshness of everything used. Oh and with change from £30 for a very enjoyable and filling lunch for two I just don’t think you can go wrong.

If anybody has any recommendations for foodie or otherwise things to do in Cancun or the Riviera Maya in Mexico please do comment below.