How about another vegetarian quesadilla? I had previously posted a recipe for a mushroom quesadilla, which really is extremely delicious. This time I turn to soy to make up the body of this quesadilla. We will use tofu crumbles along with some cheese to make these quesadillas. Cooking the tofu crumbles down with onion, garlic, tomato paste, and some spices gives them a ton of flavor. When you combine this amped up tofu with some cheese inside of a large tortilla, it makes for a rather tasty meal. My taco and quesadilla loving children were big fans of these, so I will definitely be adding these into my dinner rotation. It's always nice when you can add a delicious, meatless meal into the mix during the week!
Ingredients
1 ½ lbs meatless crumbles
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp taco seasoning
4 cups shredded cheese (such as oaxaca, asadero, monterey jack, or a melting vegan cheese)
6 large tortillas
1 ½ lbs meatless crumbles
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp taco seasoning
4 cups shredded cheese (such as oaxaca, asadero, monterey jack, or a melting vegan cheese)
6 large tortillas
Place a pan over medium heat, and once the pan is warm, add the oil and coat the pan. Add the onion to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes or so until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds to a minute, until the garlic is fragrant.
Now add the meatless tofu crumbles. You can add them in frozen; they do not need to be thawed. Stir them into the onion and garlic and allow them to sauté until soft, approximately 5-10 minutes. Once they are soft, add the taco seasoning and stir it into the crumbles. Then, add the tomato paste, and stir it into the crumbles until the tomato paste has been fully blended through.
Add the vegetable stock and stir. Allow the vegetable stock to almost fully cook off and absorb into the crumbles. This will take another 10 minutes or so. Once the stock is cooked off, give the crumbles a final stir. They are done. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
We can now assemble and fry the quesadillas. Set a pan or griddle to medium heat. Spray the surface with cooking spray once warm. Fill one half of a large tortilla generously with a portion of the tofu crumbles (about ⅕ to ⅙ of the crumbles). Add a handful of the shredded cheese to the top of the crumbles (about ½ to ⅔ of a cup). Fold the tortilla over to close the quesadilla and place on a pan or griddle. Place a cast iron (or other) press on top to help flatten the quesadilla. Cook each for 2-3 minutes until the bottom is lightly browned. Flip each quesadilla and cook another 2-3 minutes until that side is lightly browned. Remove from heat and slice each into four triangles.
Serve each with sour cream and/or guacamole. Enjoy!