Black bean and avocado quesadillas

Quesadillas are such a great lunch option both for little ones and adults and we love making different varieties of these. This is one of our favourite versions at the moment. So simple, yet delicious and healthy. The traditional quesadilla is loaded with cheese and, of course, my 3 year-old was adamant that his HAD to have cheese in it (because he’s 3 years old and 3 year-olds absolutely always know what is best).

So, on this occasion we found out that this does also work with cheese if you cannot possibly fathom a quesadilla without any! But, equally, they taste perfectly delicious without and the baby and I ate loads between us -oops! The trick is to mash the beans and avocado with a squeeze of lime juice and press the two sides together well to keep it from flopping apart

Go easy on the lime for the baby’s portion and feel free to add a sprinkling of ground rock salt to the adult’s before cooking. Beautiful served with lots of fresh salad and a freshly made tomato salsa for the more mature tastebuds!

Ingredients
1 tortilla wrap
~2 tbsps pre-cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 avocado
squeeze fresh lime juice
small sprinkling of fresh coriander
small sprinkling of rock salt (optional, for adults!)

Method

1. Lay out your tortilla wrap and on one half roughly mash the cooked black beans (if using tinned black beans, make sure they are rinsed thoroughly)
2. Sprinkle a little bit of water on top of the beans to stop them drying out during cooking
3. Slice the avocado thinly and arrange on top of the beans. For babies and small children, mash avocado into the beans.
4. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice on top and a sprinkling of coriander (plus salt if using for adults only)
5. Fold the uncovered half of the tortilla over the top
6. Lightly grease a non-stick frying pan (don’t add too much oil. A good trick is to pour a small bit in and then wipe it round the pan with a piece of kitchen roll to coat evenly)
7. Heat the pan on low-medium heat and add the folded quesadilla, gently pressing down on the top with a spatula to flatten
8. Keep the heat on low-medium. After a minute or two, flip the quesadilla and cook on the other side. If it needs cooking further on both sides, continue to flip it over and cook until lightly browned and the insides are hot.
9. Remove from heat and allow to cool to warm before giving to babies and children