Vegan Quesadillas

Hi guys! We created this recipe because when we traveled to Portugal we found ourselves in an amazing Mexican restaurant. The quesadillas were great however they were not gluten free or dairy free. We challenged ourselves to recreate the same quesadillas, but making a version that was safe for coeliacs and lactose intolerant people. We experimented with chickpeas to create a cheesy consistency, and played around with fillings, until we achieved these delicious quesadillas. We compared the regular ones with our creation and were more than pleasantly surprised by how similar they were. Hope you enjoy!

What you’ll need:

• a can of chickpeas with the water
• 1 red pepper
• 1 onion
• A can of beans
• 1 avocado
• 2 tomatoes
• Gluten-free wraps
• A handful of coriander
• Piri-piri
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cumin
• Paprika
• Lemon juice
• Nutritional yeast (optional)
• Garlic
 

 

Instructions:

Step 1: First, start by making the fake cheese. Blend the chickpeas with all the chickpea water. This is to achieve a thin consistency, like spreadable cheese. Blend in the lemon juice, the garlic, and nutritional yeast if you decide to include it in the recipe. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 2: Next, chop all your veggies. Thinly dice the pepper, onion, and tomatoes.

Step 3: Heat up a pan with some olive oil, and start cooking your pepper with the onion on medium heat. Don’t cook them too quickly, so that you have time to make the other fillings whilst they are cooking. Season with cumin, paprika, piri-piri, salt and pepper.

Step 4: Heat up another pan with oil, and add your beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. It is normal for the beans to become mushy, but it doesn’t matter since all the fillings will blend together in the quesadilla anyway.

Step 5: While your fillings are cooking, make the guacamole. Mash the avocado, and add a dash of oil, a dash of lemon juice, some salt, pepper and chopped coriander.

Step 6: If you like, you can also prepare some tomatoes to put in your quesadilla. Mix them up with some coriander.

Step 7: Finally, assemble your quesadillas. Wet the wraps a little so they don’t stick to the pan. Heat up the pan to high heat. Place the wrap and immediately start putting the fillings on one half. First spread some of the chickpea mixture, then add the beans, peppers, tomatoes, and top up with more “cheese”. Close the quesadilla and flip over. Grill a little and serve with the guacamole and some salsa. Enjoy!