If you look at the photos on my Steemit or blogspot, you probably think I eat like a gourmand on a daily basis. Let me dispel this notion immediately: I am one very apathetic home chef. For example, tonight for dinner I threw some ramen noodles, mushrooms, spinach, and chicken/broth into a pot, and called it a night. It took about ten minutes to prepare, and my lazy ass is completely satisfied. If i made a cookbook of what I actually ate on a daily basis, I think I'd sell about 10 copies...7 of which would be returned to the store.
When I write recipes, I like to not only think outside of the box, but outside of what's considered appropriate for a trained professional chef. I have no training besides what I've read in books. I let my palate do the teaching. I find that I usually have a great deal of success when I test a recipe, and the feedback I receive is 90% positive.
The biggest complaint I receive is that my recipes seem just a tad to overwhelming for a novice home chef. In my cookbook, Veganize This , I broke it down into easy, step-by-step processes that even included shortcuts to eliminate a great deal of the dirty work that goes into the preparation process.
This recipe is one of my more simple ones. It can be made vegan, as the recipe is written, or subbed out with actual meat chorizo, real cheddar and sour cream (for the creme fraiche).
White Soy Sauce Glazed Pasilla Pepper, Kale, Chickpea and Chorizo Quesadilla topped with Cilantro Creme Fraiche
2 TBSP Canola Oil
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 White Onion, chopped
1 14 oz can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
12 oz package of Vegan Chorizo (I used Yves)
1 Pasilla Chile Pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 cups chopped Kale (any type)
2 TBSP White Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 cups Vegan Cheddar Cheese, shredded
4 Large (Burrito Size) tortillas
In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat the canola oil. Add the garlic and onions to the pan, and saute until the onions are translucent but not browned. Add the chickpeas, chorizo, and pasilla pepper to the pan, and saute until the chorizo is browned, the chickpeas are cooked and the pepper is softened.
Add the white soy sauce to the pan to deglaze, then stir in the kale and saute until wilted. Taste to see if salt or pepper is needed, then remove the pan from heat and set aside.
Take your tortillas, and add equal amounts of the chorizo mixture to one half of the tortilla. Spread the mixture out evenly over half the tortilla. Sprinkle 1/4 cup (or more, if desired) of the vegan cheddar over the filling on each tortilla, then fold the tortilla over to make a sandwich.
You have two options for cooking the quesadilla. One is to cook it in a pan on the stove, the other is to use a George Foreman Grill-type device.
If you're cooking stove top, grease a grill pan with a touch of oil and heat the pan over high heat. Cook the quesadillas one at a time for about 4 minutes on each side, or until all the cheese is completely melted.
If you're cooking on a Foreman Grill, cook the quesadillas individually until the cheese has fully melted and the tortilla is brown.
Cut the quesadillas into 4 slices, then serve immediately garnished with Cilantro Creme Fraiche. These also taste great with pico de galo salsa or guacamole.
Cilantro Creme Fraiche
2/3 cup MimicCreme (or sub 2/3 cup Soymilk mixed with 1 TBSP White Vinegar)
1/3 cup Plain Soy Yogurt
1 small bunch Cilantro, finely diced
Mix the MimicCreme and plain soy yogurt together well, and leave out un-refrigerated for 12 hours. Yes, you read that correctly. It won't kill you...I promise.
Stick in the refrigerator until just before you're ready to make the quesadillas.
Remove from the refrigerator, stir in the cilantro, the place back in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat.