Black Bean & Goat Cheese Quesadillas With Guacamole

I had most of the ingredient for this on hand and they needed to be used.  While I picked if for convenience, it turned out to be quite a good recipe.  My husband loved it, including the guacamole!  He is not a fan of avocados or guac.  My son loved it, but declined on the guacamole.  He tasted it but didn't like it.  I too enjoyed this one.  I would have liked a bit more goat cheese but other than that I can't complain.  My husband came up with the brilliant idea to spread the goat cheese over the tortilla rather than get messy trying to crumble.  I like that the cheese was in every bite and less mess to boot.  Quesadillas are fast and easy to make and this one was not your typical cheese or chicken one. The beans can be made ahead too.  The recipe said you could assemble them early too.  I would worry what that would do the tortilla.  Sounds like a recipe for soggy to me, and quite frankly the spreading of cheese and beans doesn't take that long.


Black Bean & Goat Cheese Quesadillas With Guacamole


3    Tbs. olive oil
1    small yellow onion,finely chopped
1    5-1/2-oz. can black beans rinsed and drained
1 t  ground cumin
1 t  chili powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c  chopped fresh cilantro
1    large or 2 small ripe avocados,pitted and peeled
2 t  fresh lime juice,more to taste
3    to 4 oz. fresh goat cheese crumbled
6    flour tortillas,8 inches across
In a medium skillet, heat 2 Tbs. of the oil over medium heat until
hot but not smoking. Add the onion and saut, stirring, until it softens,
about 5 minutes. Add the beans, cumin, chili powder, and 1/2 cup water
and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all the water has
evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Take the pan off the heat. With the back of
a fork, break up the beans to make a chunky mash. Stir in half of the
cilantro and season with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, combine the avocado, lime juice, and remaining
cilantro and use a potato masher or the back of a fork to mash into a
chunky paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper; add more lime juice
if you like.
Spread the black bean mixture evenly over three of the tortillas.
Scatter the goat cheese over the beans and cover with the remaining
tortillas. Lightly coat a large heavy skillet or griddle with oil
(about 1 tsp.) and heat over medium heat. Set one of the quesadillas in
the skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Flip the
quesadilla over and brown on the other side for another 1-1/2 minutes.
Remove from the pan, cook the remaining quesadillas (add more oil to
the pan each time) and cut each into eight wedges. Serve each wedge
with a dollop of the guacamole.