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COLUMN: Ilse Cooks the Books (Quesadillas with Guacamole)

───   10:59 Fri, 10 Nov 2017

COLUMN: Ilse Cooks the Books (Quesadillas with Guacamole) | News Article
Ilse Smalberger

It's the Springboks End of Year Tour and what better way to enjoy a rugby match than with a meal or snack that is spicy, crunchy and delicious and can be eaten with one hand while you shake your other fist at the referee?


Which brings us to the wonderful topic of game day food! We as South Africans usually associate sport with having a braai, whether it's having friends over for a braai before a big rugby game, enjoying a boerie on the stands or lighting the gas braai for a tjoppie or two during lunch at the cricket. 

Just like us, other nations have their own beloved foods that they like to enjoy at the game.  According to UEFA's website the Belgians eat chips with mayonnaise, the Germans fill up on bratwurst and the English enjoy roast beef sandwiches or pies. All with beer of course, as do we! 

Today's offering has more of a Mexican flavour and it's one of my favourite things to eat - quesadillas. A quesadilla is basically two tortillas sandwiched together with a cheese-based filling and warmed through.  You can keep it cheesy, or add grilled chicken, leftover pork or grilled vegetables to bulk them up.

Incidentally, I didn't have tortillas in the pantry when I decided to make this dish (which hardly ever happens as it is such a good kitchen standby), but I did have Indian naan breads.  So a (hopefully) happy marriage of Indian and Mexican cuisine ensued and a naan-quesadilla was the result!

 

JAMIE'S DINNERS - QUESADILLAS WITH GUACAMOLE

Saturdays are a very relaxed affair cooking-wise at my house.  I want maximum enjoyment with minimum effort when it comes to meals at the weekend!  That's why I absolutely love quesadillas and Jamie Oliver makes the best version in my book.

And so we come to Jamie Oliver.  You don't have to be a foodie to know who Jamie Oliver is.  He is loved as much as he is reviled in his homeland and even here, I know people who can't stand him.  Personally, I love his recipes and I don't mind him as a person either. I own six of his cookbooks and my collection is growing. I love the type of food he cooks and his relaxed take on cooking and preparing meals.

This recipe is written without any specific quantities as it really depends on how many quesadillas you will be making.  I've given it more or less as it appears in his book (once again with my comments in italics).

Funnily enough, I didn't think that this would be the first Jamie recipe I would share with you, but then, life has a way of throwing up surprises every day. Let's hope the Irish don’t surprise the Springboks tomorrow on the field...

QUESADILLAS WITH GUACAMOLE

Serves as many as you want, depending on the quantities used.

To make the guacamole, use two or three ripe avocados, two or three ripe deseeded tomatoes (I just chopped up a bunch of cherry tomatoes, seeds and all), and a couple of deseeded chillies (adjust according to your preferred level of heat!) into a food processor with a handful of peeled and chopped spring onion and coriander.  Once this has been chopped up nice and fine, add a couple more chopped tomatoes, a good pinch of salt and pepper and more chopped avocado to give it a nice, chunky texture. (I like a textured guacamole, so I just mashed and mixed everything together in a bowl). 

Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed and add a good squeeze of lemon or lime juice (I prefer lime).  

To fill the quesadillas, mix a couple of big handfuls of grated Cheddar (or Gouda) cheese with the guacamole.  (Keep tasting, you might find you want more salt or pepper or lime, or even heat).  Spoon the mixture between the tortillas and press down to seal.  Some people like to fry them in oil, but this makes them greasy and is not all that healthy.  You can also grill them, but I (Jamie) like to put them in a dry, non-stick frying pan on a medium heat so that after about a minute and a half on each side, you are left with a really crispy outside and an oozy, stringy filling.  (I, on the other hand, just pop mine into the Snackwich toaster.  Crispy outside, oozy inside, every time.)

 

Serve the quesadillas - cut into quarters - with sour cream.

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