QUESADILLAS WITH CASHEW CHEESE by Bianca Haun and Sascha Naderer Melted cheese between two tortillas: How can you go wrong? A quesadilla is a simple, delicious meal that will get you through even those sad days or nasty hangovers. For the cheesy component of the quesadilla, we use our homemade cashew cheese. For the filling, we use a mix of veggies such as red bell pepper, scallions, garlic, and corn, but you can use whatever you have at home. Just make sure you cook the fillings first to make them nice and soft for the quesadilla. Prep Time 40 minutes plus soaking overnight
Makes 2 quesadillas
Bake Time 4-6 minutes
MAKE THE CASHEW CHEESE* INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
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1. Soak cashews in water overnight. 2. Next day, rinse and drain cashews. 3. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. You might have to scrape down the sides a few times. 4. Transfer cheese mixture to a saucepan and bring to medium heat. Keep stirring until it gets stretchy.
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1 cup (130 g) raw, unsalted cashews soaked overnight (see DIRECTIONS) 4 teaspoons tapioca starch 2 small garlic cloves 4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast ¾ teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons lemon juice ½ cup (125 mL) water
5. Set aside.
MAKE THE FILLING
DIRECTIONS FOR SERVING
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
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1. Heat canola oil in a large pan over high heat.
1 teaspoon canola oil 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 scallion, thinly sliced 1 garlic clove, minced ½ cup (85 g) corn ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon cumin cayenne pepper to taste 1 teaspoon cilantro, chopped 4 (9-inch) tortillas
2. Add chopped veggies and season with salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper. 3. Once vegetables are soft, add chopped cilantro and combine.
1. Spread cashew cheese onto four tortillas all the way to sides. 2. Add roasted veggies on two cheesy tortillas. 3. Top each filled tortilla with a second cheesy tortilla; press together until filling sticks to tortillas (thanks to the cheese). 4. Bake each quesadilla in a lightly oiled pan for 2-3 minutes until crispy, then flip and bake on other side until golden and crispy. 5. Cut into quarters and serve.
*NOTE: You won’t need all the vegan cheese for this recipe, but I’ve doubled the ingredients to make it work in a regular-size blender. If you’re using a blender with a small container, feel free to halve the cheese recipe. Excerpted from Cravings Made Vegan: 50 Plant-Based Recipes for Your Comfort Food Favorites by Bianca Haun and Sascha Naderer, with permission from Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. Copyright 2018 by Bianca Haun and Sascha Naderer. Photographs by Bianca Haun and Sascha Naderer.
ABOUT THE CHEFS Bianca Haun is the food blogger behind Elephantastic Vegan, where she shares her favorite plant-based recipes and spreads the word about veganism without being too preachy about it. Together with her boyfriend, Sascha, they are a foodie couple that, after adopting a plant-based diet, fell in love with food all over again.
Sascha Naderer is the stew-cooking, breadstick-eating, avocado-craving side of this dynamic vegan duo. To him, cooking is about creativity, spontaneity, and tons of garlic, and he sees decadent vegan food as the perfect way to enjoy great food without having to compromise his ethics. He and Bianca currently reside in Linz, Austria.
https://www.elephantasticvegan.com/ FB/Insta: @elephantasticvegan Twitter: @elephantasticV Cravings Made Vegan available at https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/9781510739321/cravings-made-vegan/