Smoked Cheddar, Apple & Cider Lentil Quesadillas
I love the combination of bright crisp apple with smoky cheese and in this quesadilla, I make a meal out of it by adding greens and lentils. The apple cider brings in more fall flavor and the caramelized onions are ridiculously sweet and gooey. Serve the quesadillas with the usual suspects like avocado/guacamole, hot sauce/chili oil or salsa, sour cream/yogurt etc. I like to eat it with lime zest and juice and Hot Mama Smoky Coffee Chili Oil mixed into plain yogurt for a tangy spicy sauce.
Makes 6 quesadillas
Extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or cooking spray
6 6-inch flour tortillas
2 cups shredded smoked cheddar cheese (about ½ pound)
½ cup – 1 cup cider caramelized onions (recipe below)
1 cup cooked cider lentils (recipe below)
1 large juicy crisp apple (like Honeycrisp or Cosmic Crisp), thinly sliced
2 cups chopped dark leafy greens (kale, spinach etc), briefly sautéed
Handful chopped cilantro leaves and/or stems
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 lime, cut into wedges
Lightly coat a medium skillet with cooking spray or oil and heat over medium-low heat. Lay a tortilla in the skillet and cook 1-2 minutes, or until it starts to puff up and become golden, then flip it over.
Sprinkle 1/3 cup cheese evenly across half of the tortilla then top with 2 -3 teaspoons of onions, a couple tablespoons of lentils, and a layer of apple slices and greens. Sprinkle with cilantro, salt and pepper then fold the bare half of the tortilla over the fillings and cook until the cheese has melted, about 1-2 minutes. Flip and cook one minute more, until golden and heated all the way through. Lower the heat if the tortillas are browning faster than the cheese is melting.
Repeat with the remaining ingredients and serve immediately with a lime wedge, avocado, etc as desired.
NOTES
To simplify this recipe:
- Use apple and cheese or omit any of the other fillings - lentils, greens, caramelized onions
- Buy canned lentils (or canned black beans or other legumes )
- Fry the onions quickly rather than caramelizing them
- Add the greens to the onions when they’re almost done caramelizingIf lentils don’t appeal, any bean will do, or your favorite bite-sized protein like shrimp or shredded rotisserie chicken.
This yields extra lentils and caramelized onions because you’ll want leftovers. Both are great on sweet potatoes, nachos, pizza, toast with greens, mixed into pasta or rice, eggs, added to a broth as soup etc.
Make it a bowl and serve with more greens and lentils.
For the cider lentils
Cooking the lentils in apple cider or hard apple cider brings in more fall flavor, but you can absolutely cook them in water or use canned or refrigerated vacuum sealed lentils (Trader Joe’s).
1 cup dry French lentils (or Beluga or Puy – any lentil that will hold its shape while cooked, NOT red lentils)
3 cups apple cider or hard cider (like Finnriver)
Pour the lentils onto a white surface, like a plate, and sift through them, removing any debris. Rinse the lentils and drain, then transfer to a medium pot and cover with cider. There should be at least 2 inches of cider above the top of the lentils.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 18-30 minutes until tender but not falling apart. They should hold their shape but should be easy to bite into. (If your lentils have been recently harvested, they will cook quicker and if they are very old, they will take longer.) Drain well in a sieve or a colander with small holes. If you wish, drain over a container to catch the cider then use to caramelize the onions or transfer it back into the pot and reduce it to make a cider syrup to mix into the lentils or into sour cream for topping the quesadillas. The lentils will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
For the cider caramelized onions
This method takes some time, but they’re so sweet and gooey, it’s worth it. They'll last for a couple weeks in the fridge for 3 months in the freezer. Consider making a double batch - they’re good with everything. Don’t fret if you don’t have cider. They’ll still come out super tasty and sweet if you use water.
Makes 1 cup
2 cups apple cider or hard cider (like Finnriver)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or butter
2 large red or yellow onions, thinly sliced
Salt
Fill a liquid measuring glass with the cider and place next to the stove.
Heat the oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and stir to coat. Cook, stirring frequently. After about 7 minutes, the onions will turn translucent and golden, and some of their edges will turn brown.
When the onions start to stick to the pan, add ¼ cup cider and stir, freeing the onions from the bottom of the pan and scraping up the fond (the sweet brown bits) and mixing it into the onions.
Continue to cook, stirring once or twice in the first minute, then let cook untouched for another 1 - 2 minutes, until the onions stick to the pan again. (The sizzle will also get louder.) Add another ¼ cup of cider and repeat this process until the onions are caramelized to your liking, then add salt to taste. (I like to use the full 2 cups which takes about 35 minutes.) Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.