Chorizo and Black Bean Quesadillas
It’s difficult for me, as an American, to separate the concept of the quesadilla from Taco Bell. It was never authentic but it was available and, say what you will about Taco Bell, there’s a reason they’re now here in the UK. I haven’t eaten there in years but I still enjoy a quesadilla. Now I prefer to make them at home.
There were two things we would reliably eat in college after a night out: Taco Bell or pizza from a place called Toppers. In either case it usually also included ranch dressing. Yes. Ranch dressing on pizza and quesadillas. Not because that makes any sense but because ranch dressing went with everything at that time in my life. It’s inexplicable but a very real part of living in the Midwest.
As with most highly processed foods, adding ranch dressing to everything is mostly a way to add an incredible amount of salt to whatever you’re dipping in it. I’m less interested in the highly processed part but will always be a sucker for the salt/fat/cheese combination and was thrilled to find that the addition of chorizo to a black bean quesadilla ticks that box in a big way.
In this household quesadillas are usually a way to use up leftover tortillas from when we’ve made burritos or chicken fajitas. Which generally means we also have an avocado around so can make some guacamole. They are quick, satisfying and also a good way to use up other leftover bits and pieces in the fridge. Cheese should be the star (and could easily carry it alone) but if you add any meat you will want it to be cooked or cured because they won’t be in the pan long enough to cook anything you wouldn’t eat raw. Hence, chorizo. An addition of some sour cream and tobasco, if you have it, will up the flavor ante with no drive through required.
