Mexican Feast

Refried Bean Quesadillas with Nachos, Homemade Guacamole and Chili and Garlic Corn

My boyfriend and I have completely different tastes in food which makes hard to know what to cook for both of us. The main issue is that he doesn't like vegetables and I do, and I don't like meat and he does. Most of the time we have two separate meals (meat and veggie version) which mostly consist of lasagna, spaghetti bolognese and toad in the hole. And while I love all these meals, it's nice to have a bit of a change so I decided to try this.

So first I wanted to make some guacamole and decided to use the Avacado Lime Salsa from the Apres Mojo recpie in the Terre a Terre cook book because my boyfriend liked it so much when we went there. It's the first time I made it myself, and if I have time I will definitely do it again because it tastes so much better than shop brought!

So after you've made your guac, (if you are making it) make your refried beans. You can also buy these but I made them from scratch just because it's cheaper. Traditional recipes usually use bacon fat, but as I'm obviously not using that I added some chipotle paste to give them a smoky taste as well as a kick.

1 can pinto beans drained

Olive oil

1/4 tsp chipotle paste

10g cheddar cheese

Heat up some oil in a pan, add the beans and soften for a few minutes on a low heat while stirring. Once heated use a potato masher to mash beans, adding more oil as you go to create a smoother consistency. Add the cheese and mix in well. Remove from the heat and let them cool then put in an airtight container in the fridge until you need to use them.

So on to the Quesadillas and Corn:

Serves 4

4 ears of corn

80g butter

1/2 tsp finely chopped chili

1 crushed garlic clove

Olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1/2 can chopped tomatoes

1 tsp paprika

4 flour tortillas

Refried beans

40g cheddar cheese

(any other vegetables/ingredients you want to put in!)

Tortilla chips and more cheese for the nachos

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Start by boiling the corn for 5 minutes, once ready remove from the water and leave to cool. While the corn is cooling make a tomato sauce type thing by sweating the onion and pepper in some oil for around 5 minutes, then adding the tomato and paprika and leaving on a low heat to reduce right down. While it's reducing make up the chili and garlic butter by mixing the ingredients together and then cover the cobs with it and wrap them in tin foil. Heat your griddle pan on the highest heat then pop the corn on and turn (with an implement!) for around 2 minutes. Then pop them in the oven to keep them warm while you make your quesadillas.

Spread half your tortilla with refried beans, then top with the tomato sauce mixture and cheese, (and anything else you want, in my boyfriends case we use cooked mexican chicken strips) fold in half and cook on a medium heat on the griddle until it has nice grill marks and the cheese has melted. Repeat this for all 4, and make the nachos how ever you like, (in the oven, under the grill, in the microwave ect) plate it all up and enjoy!

Posted in: vegetarian