I know I call our Cuban black beans and rice recipe Old Faithful, but if we’re being honest, this bean quesadilla recipe really is the true Old Faithful. I introduced you to this recipe back in February, and I confess that my love for it has not abated one bit – nor has it for the last 15-or-so years I’ve been making it.
It occurred to me tonight as I was cooking that this might be one of my longest-running recipes; it’s certainly one of the first ones I made reliably and comfortably while living on my own, aside from a few boxed-rice dishes that hardly count as “recipes” at all. Every time I make it – which isn’t nearly as much these days as it was back in say, 2001 – I’m instantly transported back to being 20 or 21, to having the carefree thrills of daily life that come with being a junior in college.
Oh, to be that carefree today! I suppose there’s no reason why I can’t be, really; I confess I have become a bit more serious as the years have carried on, and that’s not always served me well. But every time I make this dish, I lose track of time and feel just as I did when I was a dozen years younger. Food is funny like that; it evokes so many memories that have nothing to do with the food itself. Just one of the many things I love about cooking, to be honest with you.
Anyway, the meal couldn’t be simpler to make – sauté an onion with some diced roasted red pepper (or jalapeno, or what have you), add some garlic powder and ground cumin, then let the onion turn translucent before adding black and pinto beans (a can apiece), salt, pepper, diced tomato, and cilantro. Once everything has blended nicely, spoon a hearty amount onto tortillas, top with cheese, and then place a second tortilla on top of each one. Then spray the tops with cooking spray, cook at 450 for 10 minutes, and you’re done!
Another reason to love this recipe: It makes leftovers galore. We’ve got three more quesadillas waiting in the wings for lunch this week, plus a little extra bean mixture that we mowed down tonight but could have just as easily kept for a little side dish. I love a dinner that stretches into four!
:)