recipe: black bean and sweet potato quesadillas

 this has become one of my very favorite dinners recently. I have no idea where I first saw the idea of adding yams (or sweet potatoes) to quesadillas, but I am now officially a fan! It makes a great meat-free dinner that's a bit more filling than just cheese and beans. 

because we love these so much, I thought today I'd share them with all of you. They take a bit of prep work, but are relatively easy- perfect for Friday movie nights with the family, or (when prepped ahead of time) a quick snack when getting home from work. 

we often make some guacamole to go with the quesadillas and then eat them with salsa and creme fraîche (or sour cream if you live in North America...) If you've never made guacamole, here's a great recipe that's very similar to what I do to make our's. 

the amounts in this recipe will make 3 quesadillas. That's more than enough for a dinner for two in our house. If you want to feed more (or less) people, just play around with the amounts, (as always) to find what works for you. all right, without any further chatting, here's how to make the quesadillas:

you will need:

6 tortillas
one good sized yam
half a red onion
one can of black beans
half a block of feta, crumbled
3 handfuls grated cheese of your choice
mild to medium salsa

step one:

the first thing you're going to want to do is get the yams in the oven, as they need to cook for about 45 minutes. Peel and chop them into 8th's, then toss them in a bowl with some olive oil until they are well coated. Place them on a baking tray and put them in the oven at 200C for 45 minutes, or until they are quite soft.

step two:

in the meantime you can prep the rest of your ingredients. Chop your onion up very thinly. Grate your cheese. Lay out your tortillas on the counter and spread a thin layer of salsa on half of them (these will be the top layer of your quesadillas). If you're making guacamole, now's a great time to do that. 

step three: 

once your yams are done, you can assemble the quesadillas. Remove the yams from the oven and distribute the pieces evenly over your tortillas (not the sides with salsa). Mash them with a fork until they are well spread. Next add your black beans, with a little of the sauce they're in. Add the red onions, crumbled feta and grated cheese. Then place the other halves (the sides with salsa) on top. 

step four:

cook the tortillas in a dry frying pan on each side, until golden. You can put them on a plate in the oven to keep warm until all have finished cooking if you'd like. Cut into quarters and stack on a plate for everyone to serve themselves. 

Serve with extra salsa, guacamole and creme fraîche to hungry people. 

Enjoy!