I have multiple personalities when it comes to eating. I love eating healthy foods. I get immense pleasure from salad bars and crudites platters. But for someone with a deep appreciation of fine foods and a balanced diet, I have legitimately embarrassing cravings. Sour cream and cheddar chips. Ice cream drumsticks. Frozen pizzas. Sour gummy straws. I like to think that I’m a pretty impressive 27 year old, but my cravings reflect those of a 13 year old boy.
Enter buffalo wings. I haven’t had a buffalo wing in nearly 20 years (vegetarian, now pescatarian). But that hasn’t stopped me from soaking up the sauce with carrots and celery and whatever else is around for dipping purposes. I never actually crave the meat, but I love the spicy sweet sauce that puddles on the plate in a weird, artificially orange pool (again – I know this is confusing coming from a healthhfood lover).
Voila! I present to you a truly minimalist recipe: buffalo cauliflower quesadillas. They somehow tap both sides of my foodie personality – a hefty serving of veggies mixed with the unhealthy flavor of buffalo and melted cheese. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, cleaned and chopped into florets
1/4 cup of hot sauce (I used Texas Pete)
1 tbsp of butter
1 cup of black beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
6 mini corn or whole wheat tortillas (or 3 full size tortillas folded in half)
Option garnish: nonfat plain Greek yogurt, salsa, chopped romaine lettuce
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a sauce pan over medium low heat, melt the tablespoon of butter, then add the 1/4 of hot sauce and 1 tablespoon of water. Stir and keep over low heat until full combined.
Pour your cauliflower florets into a large baking pan and top with the hot sauce and butter mixture, pouring it on slowly and stirring everything together with a large spoon.
Roast the cauliflower at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes and remove from heat. In a saute pan over medium low heat, add a touch of olive oil or butter and drop in a tortilla. Sprinkle on cheddar cheese, beans, and cauliflower, then top with more cheese and a second tortilla.
Let the bottom side get crispy and the cheese get melty, then carefully flip the quesadilla to the other side. This is when using a large tortilla and folding it in half will save you some trouble!
Cook the quesadilla for another 4-5 minutes, then remove from heat and serve with optional toppings. I chopped up the romaine lettuce for extra crunch.
