Red and Green Bean and Cheese Quesadillas with Sweet Potato Salsa

From New Vegetarian, Robin Asbell, Chronicle Books, 2009.

I seem to have been obsessed with Mexican flavours lately but there has been a gap from them for I have been holidaying in Kakadu and Darwin and eating out. But what’s the first thing I make when I return to Sydney and begin cooking again: Mexican food.

These quesadillas sounded interesting to me as they did not have the usual filling and the sweet potato salsa definitely sounded to be very different.

For the salsa I cooked a cup of sweet potato and placed it into a blender. To it I added a peeled garlic clove, about half a cup of coriander leaves, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, a good pinch of chilli flakes and salt. The ingredients were churned, tasted for seasoning (a little more salt added) and placed in a bowl for serving. Despite my doubt this turned out to be a really tasty salsa.

For the quesadilla filling, I placed in a bowl ½ cup edamame and ½ cup red beans (the recipe called for black soya beans but I did not have them so used a can of Mexican beans which were in a sauce). With a fork I mashed the beans just a little. To the two beans I added ½ teaspoon salt and about 2 teaspoons chipotle in adobo sauce, well chopped. I grated a cup and a half of tasty cheddar cheese and mixed this in.

Three 15cm tortillas were laid out and the mixture spread over them to about 1cm from the edge. Another three tortillas were placed over them. They were then fried one by one in an oiled pan for about 2 minutes per side, pressing them down a little to aid them to stick together.

I served these with the sweet potato salsa and a lemony guacamole. The salsa went perfectly with them; the guacamole was okay but not as perfect a match as the salsa. The quesadillas were full of flavour, cheesy and spicy with an occasional crunch from the edamames

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

African Chickpea, Peanut and Kale Soup

From New Vegetarian, Robin Asbell, Chronicle Books, 2009.

I chopped an onion and sliced a carrot. These went into a pan with a little olive oil to sauté until softened. A chopped garlic clove was then added and stirred around for a minute. I then added a teaspoon ground coriander, a teaspoon paprika and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper. These were stirred until the aroma came through. At this stage I added 2 cups stock in which had been dissolved 4 tablespoons peanut butter, a cup tomato puree and a can chickpeas that had been drained and rinsed.

While this was being brought to the boil I chopped 2 cups kale that I added as soon as the mixture reached boiling point. The soup was now simmered for 10 minutes and was then seasoned with salt and pepper.

This was quite an unusual mix of ingredients but they did work well together. The soup was brimming with flavour, the chickpeas gave a little texture and the spices came through nicely with the slightest hint of heat from the cayenne. The kale, though, was a little lost in amongst the other rich flavours. A fulsome, easily made soup.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

French Apple-Pear Salad

From New Vegetarian, Robin Asbell, Chronicle Books, 2009.

To begin I made the dressing. In the juice of half a lemon I put a touch of vanilla paste and a pinch of salt. I beat these until all were combined then added walnut oil and beat again.

I cut up two pears and one apple. Each was cut into quarters and the cores removed. They were then sliced and placed in a bowl with the dressing to ensure that they did not colour.

A stick of celery was chopped finely and added to the fruit. A good handful of walnuts was chopped and also added. Fresh tarragon was difficult to obtain so I added a sprinkling of dried tarragon and stirred it in.

The salad was served with Brie.

This was a crunchy salad, sweet and with a touch or sour. The hint of vanilla, which I had doubted when I added it, worked well with the fruit. Brie, naturally, went well with the salad.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Lemon-Parmesan Asparagus Spears

From New Vegetarian, Robin Asbell, Chronicle Books, 2009.

Some grated Parmesan cheese was mixed with zest from a large lemon.

A sheet of filo pastry was buttered and then some of the cheese/zest mix was sprinkled on it. The sheet of filo was then folded in half and cut into 10 cm squares. On each square an asparagus spear was placed diagonally across it and then rolled. When all of the squares were filled the rolls were covered and placed in the refrigerator for an hour.

A mint aioli was made at this time. In the blender I placed a chopped garlic clove, an egg yolk, a little lemon juice, a pinch of cayenne and some salt. These were pureed and then gradually oil was added while the blender was still going. Some chopped mint was added and given another pulse to mix it in.

The asparagus rolls were now baked in a 200°C oven until golden.

This was a tasty pre-dinner snack that was soon gobbled up.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔