Quesadilla Triangles with Black Beans and Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 x 400g tins black beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 large flour tortillas
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g mature cheddar, coarsely grated
• 100g Monterey Jack, coarsely grated
• 200g mild jarred salsa
• 2 red peppers, deseeded and thinly sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 ripe avocados, stoned, peeled and roughly diced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 15g fresh coriander, leaves roughly torn
• 150ml sour cream, to serve
• pickled jalapeños, drained, to taste, to serve
• hot sauce, to serve
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Method

1. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the peppers and red onion in a single layer — don't crowd them or they'll steam instead of char — and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring only occasionally, until softened with proper blackened edges. Season generously with salt and pepper and tip onto a plate.
2. Tip the black beans into a bowl with the salsa. Add the cumin and smoked paprika, then warm a small splash of olive oil in a pan and bloom the spices for 30–60 seconds until fragrant before stirring through the beans — raw ground spices taste dusty, bloomed ones taste of themselves. Season well and crush about a third of the beans with the back of a fork so the filling binds when you cut the quesadillas.
3. In a separate bowl, gently toss the avocado and cherry tomatoes with the lime juice and half the torn coriander. Season with a pinch of salt and set aside — the lime keeps the avocado bright and stops it browning.
4. Lay four tortillas on a board. Scatter the cheese right to the edges (the rim of cheese is what seals each quesadilla as it melts), then spoon over the black bean mixture and the charred peppers and onions. Top with the remaining tortillas and press down firmly so everything binds.
5. Wipe out the frying pan and set it over a medium heat with a slick of the remaining olive oil. Cook the quesadillas one at a time for 2–3 minutes per side, pressing gently with a spatula, until deeply golden and the cheese is fully molten and oozing at the edges. Medium, not high — too hot and the tortilla scorches before the cheese has surrendered. Keep warm in a low oven while you cook the rest.
6. Taste the bean filling and the salad one more time before plating — adjust salt now, not at the table. Transfer each quesadilla to a board and cut into triangles with a sharp knife or pizza cutter; you want to hear the crunch.
7. Pile the triangles onto a large platter alongside the avocado and tomato salad. Scatter the remaining coriander over the top, squeeze a lime wedge over the salad, and serve with the soured cream for dragging through, pickled jalapeños, hot sauce and the rest of the lime wedges alongside.