Black Bean, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Quesadillas

I once asked my friend Katie what kway-se-delia-s were.

I was about 23 at the time.

True story.

I might have been drunk. Or hungover. At least I hope I was one of the two because who the hell claims Mexican among their favorite cuisines and doesn’t know what a quesadilla is when they read the word on a menu? Despite having eaten them many, many times…

(why do I share these things???)


Anyway, ever since I had huevos rancheros at Almond last weekend, we’ve been talking Mexican food. And then Jordan saw some quesadilla recipes in the NY Times and who are we to ignore the universe when it points us to Mexican food?

Apparently, we’re someone, because our quesadillas were anything but Mexican. There are no jalepenos, no salsa, no avocado, no sour cream. Not even jack or cheddar… Nope. These quesadillas are in name only, simply because they are sandwiched between two tortillas… However, with less than 3 months to re-lose all of our post wedding weight gain (as we’ll be heading to the islands for someone else’s wedding and islands = beach = bathing suits = ‘oh crap maybe I shouldn’t have allowed myself to regain all the weight I’d lost’) they managed to satisfy the need for something vaguely mexican and do it in the healthiest way possible.

The version you see below also allowed me to experiment a little with one of my new favorite things, mushrooms. Because, oh, did you know? It turns out that I like mushrooms now. Hated them for about 34 years until some time in the last few months, and now, I’m somewhat obsessed. Turns out I really just don’t like button mushrooms… who knew? I’m still experimenting with the types I like best and how to prepare and use them and this was a great chance to do just that…

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Black Bean, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Quesadillas
Courtesy of me

½ tbsp butter
½ tbsp olive oil

½ of a shallot, somewhere between diced and minced
1 c maitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/3 c red wine, divided

1 package whole grain tortilla shells 

¼ c black beans, drained & rinsed
½ c goat cheese crumbles
Salt & black pepper, optional

***

Prepare mushrooms:
Heat olive oil & butter over medium heat. Add shallots and mushrooms. Stir to coat all with butter/oil. Add half of the red wine and allow to simmer until nearly all of the wine is cooked into the mushrooms. Add remaining wine and cook down more until mushrooms begin to crisp just a bit. When they do, remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare quesadillas:
Lightly oil a large, flat skillet, place it over medium-low heat and place one tortilla on it.

Add toppings, starting with black beans (lightly mash them down to help them ‘stick’) then mushrooms, then topped with goat cheese. Add salt & black pepper, if desired.

Allow to heat up until goat cheese starts to get soft and maybe even a bit melty. Once it is, place another tortillia on top and lightly press down. 

Allow to cook another minute or so and then carefully flip. Let the other side cook for a minute or two and then remove from skillet. 

Allow to sit for a minute and then cut with a pizza cutter.

(makes 1-2 depending on the size of your shells)