Goodbye, peanut butter and jelly! In this lively, easy-to-use cookbook, author Paulette Mitchell shares 75 recipes for delicious, healthy hand-held meals that will satisfy both vegetarians and omnivores alike. Think a veggie sandwich is just cheese and sprouts? Think again.Try brown-bagging it with Mexican Black-Bean Pitas, wowing a dinner party with elegant Pear Crostini
Sandwiched between 2 tortillas, black beans and vegetables are spiced up with a hot pepper.
Serve these skinny, warm grilled-cheese Mexican sandwiches with a green salad for a light lunch. For an appetizer or soup accompaniment, let the quesadillas cool and cut them into smaller wedges.
Makes: 12 small tortilla sandwiches
Servings: 4
Filling
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bell peppers (use a mixture of red. yellow, orange, or green bell peppers), seeded, deveined, and finely chopped (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 jalapeno chile, minced (about 1 tablespoon) (see Tips)
1 clove garlic, minced, or 1/2 teaspoon prepared minced garlic
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Roma (plum) tomato
2 tablespoons sliced black olives
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano, or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
Salt to taste
Four 7-inch flour tortillas
1 cup (4 ounces) coarsely shredded Monterey jack cheese
Sour cream for garnish
ADVANCE PREPARATION: The quesadilla filling will keep for up to 3 days in a covered container in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature; assemble and bake the quesadillas just before serving.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
TO MAKE THE FILLING: Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers, onion, jalapeno, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the bell peppers are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat; stir in all the remaining filling ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Place 2 tortillas on a baking sheet; sprinkle each with about 1/4 cup of the cheese. Leaving a 1-inch border, spread half of the bell pepper mixture on each tortilla. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Top each with another tortilla, pressing down gently to make the filling adhere.
Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are softened and warm. Use kitchen shears or a pizza wheel (cutter) to cut each quesadilla into 6 wedges. Garnish with dollops of sour cream or add it to the plate on the side.
VARIATION: Rather than baking the assembled tortillas, toast them on a dry stovetop grill pan, preferably nonstick. Heat the pan over medium-high heat, then toast the quesadillas for about 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until the cheese is melted and grill marks are visible on the tortillas. (The result will be a char-grilled flavor and crispy-textured tortillas.)
