Yam Quesadillas

So here is the first Meatless Monday recipe. I first had one of these delicious treats at the Beet Root in Whistler.. I liked it so much I went home and made my own recipe... it's now a staple for us. Here it is...

Yam Quesadilla  (yields about 4 Quesadillas)
2 medium sized yams (or a giant one or 3 small ones.. you get the picture) cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium sized red peppers (either thinly sliced or you can roast these on their own and add later)
1 small red onion- thinly sliced
1 Tbsp chili powder (don't worry chili powder is not spicy if you don't like heat)
1 Tsp Cumin
1/8 Tsp Cinnamon
Few Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Pumpkin Seeds
Tortilla wraps (there are gluten free ones at Nesters if you have a gluten allergy)
Marble Cheese (if you have another cheese in your fridge already like cheddar, mozza or monteray and you don't want to buy marble you can just go with it. Or buy non dairy cheese if you have an allergy)

These were the size of my yams.
Preheat oven to 400C. Once you have all the veggies chopped up then throw it all into a baking dish. Sprinkle on the spices and give it a generous helping of olive oil, salt and pepper and mix it all up well with your hands. You can bake it covered or uncovered (uncovered makes it a big dryer but I like how it browns it a bit) it's up to you. This is how mine looked before putting it in the oven:

It should take 45-1hour. Bake until yams are fork tender.

Very lightly oil a fry pan or grill over medium heat. Place one tortilla in and apply filling to half (don't go too overboard on the filling). Add pumpkin seeds and cheese to desired taste. Carefully fold the tortilla wrap in half, that's to say, fold the untopped half over the cheese so you have a fat half moon. Press down to flatten a bit. Grill until lightly browned and crispy on both sides.

When finished transfer to plate and  cut into 2 pieces. Serve with Sour Cream, Guacamole and/or Salsa.

Now if you want to make some Guac very easily just mash up one ripe avocado with a fork, add some salt and pepper, a splash or two of lime juice, 1 clove garlic or a bit of garlic powder and some cilantro (optional) and voila. Only takes about 5 minutes.

Yum! Enjoy!