These little beauties combine all the flavours of a
really good pizza, with crispy tortillas filled with spicy chicken, tomatoes
and melted cheese, plus they’re fabulously quick and easy to make – perfect for
a midweek dinner. For a vegetarian version, substitute red and yellow peppers instead. Of course, you don’t have to make your own guacamole, but it’s really
quick and it genuinely does taste so much better.
Ingredients
2 flour tortillas
2 chicken breasts
4 large fresh tomatoes
A small handful of fresh coriander
A generous slug of sweet chilli sauce
A splash of red wine
Salt and black pepper
1 tsp sugar
Plenty of grated cheddar
To make the
guacamole:
1 ripe avocado
2 tbsp sour cream
1 fresh red chilli
1 small handful of fresh coriander
Salt and black pepper
Green salad, to serve
Serves 2
Begin by preparing the chicken – cut into small
bite-sized pieces (so that it’ll cook quickly) and pop into a frying pan with a
drizzle of olive oil. Season well and fry over a medium heat, stirring
regularly. In the meantime, slice the tomatoes into similar-sized pieces and
finely chop the coriander, then once the chicken starts to take on a golden
colour, add the tomatoes and herbs to the pan with the sweet chilli sauce and a
splash of red wine. Keep stirring until the tomatoes start to break down and
form a sauce.
Next, make your guacamole. Peel the avocado and remove
the stone, then chop into rough chunks and place in a bowl. Add the sour cream
and use a fork to mash the two together – I like my guacamole fairly chunky,
but you can blend it if you’d like it to be completely smooth. Finely chop the
coriander, and deseed and chop the chilli (I have to admit that I buy
pre-chopped chillis, to save me doing this), and add to the bowl with a good
sprinkle of salt and pepper. Stir well and have a taste to make sure all the
flavours are in balance.
When you’re ready to put the quesadillas together, scrape
the chicken and tomato sauce out into a bowl and wipe the pan clean, then
drizzle with olive oil and spread it evenly across the bottom of the pan with a
pastry brush. Cut a tortilla in half and place in the pan over a high heat,
then top with a spoonful of the chicken filling – spread it out but leave a
clear border around the edge. Grate plenty of cheese over the top and then lay
the other half of the tortilla over the filling. Place a heavy saucepan on top –
the weight will stop it falling apart and get the tortilla frying quicker. After
about twenty seconds, check the underside of the tortilla by lifting up the
edge with a spatula, and if it has started to turn brown, flip it over and
place the heavy saucepan on top again. To serve, top the quesadilla with a
generous spoonful of creamy guacamole and a handful of fresh green salad, and
wash down with a cold beer.
