I have to admit, despite all the incredible food spots popping up across south east London, as of yet nothing has matched the joy I felt when Taco Bell landed in Croydon. Yep, I know, it sounds ridiculous, but as a veggie who loves fast food (and I mean proper fast food; filling and under a fiver) the UK is desperately short of options. While McDonald’s has a veggie burger and a wrap on its menu, they are pretty much the same thing, just dressed up slightly differently. KFC recently launched their vegan sandwich but are unable to offer veggie fries, and yet, should you drunkenly happen across an off-brand chicken shop, fries seem to be all that’s on the veggie menu. In short, it’s all a bit bland, beige and uninspiring.

Taco Bell however, oh Taco Bell is breaking the goddamn RULES. For starters ALL of their tacos are available with beans instead of meat – that’s 5 glorious veggie snacks. But there’s more to TB than just tacos; there’s a 7-layer veggie burrito, nachos supreme with cheese dip, salsa AND sour cream, a cheesy quesadilla, and my favourite – the fajita quesadilla.

It is that which has inspired this recipe. I’ve taken the best bits – the sweet peppers, smoky seasoning, gooey cheese – and amped them up to 11 with extra beans fresh coriander and a good dollop of homemade guac. And the best bit? Everything can be prepared fresh in under 35 mins, however if you want to whip these up even faster, the veggie filling can be prepared a day or two in advance.

Enjoy!

Ingredients – serves 4

• 2 peppers (ideally red and yellow)
• 1 red onion
• 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
• 1 bunch of coriander
• ¼ teaspoon of cumin
• ¼ teaspoon of celery salt
• 1teaspoon of brown sugar
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 can of black beans
• ½ cup of sweetcorn
• 8 mini tortillas
• 1 ½ cups of cheddar cheese
• 2 avocados
• ¼ teaspoon of chilli flakes
• 1 spring onion
• 2 tomatoes
• Squeeze of lime juice
• Salt and pepper
• Glug of olive oil

Method

Start by dicing the peppers and red onion. Pop a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a small glug of oil. Add your diced veggies and smoked paprika, celery salt, brown sugar and cumin, give it a good stir and leave to soften for 10 minutes.

Once softened, add the diced garlic, black beans and sweetcorn and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the beans can be mashed slightly with the back of a fork. Stir in a good handful of coriander.

Set your veggie mix aside; it’s time to get guac-ing! Chop your tomatoes, spring onion and avocados and add to a mixing bowl along with your chilli flakes and the rest of your coriander. Drizzle with olive oil, before giving it all a good mash or a blitz with a hand mixer. Add salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime juice to taste.

While the flavours in your guacamole get to know each other, warm a small amount of oil in a frying pan over a low heat. Add your first tortilla to the pan and sprinkle with cheese. Once the cheese begins to melt add a layer of your veggie mix, being careful not to add too much! Top the veggies with another sprinkling of cheese and tortilla and carefully press down. Use a spatula to gently check the bottom tortilla and once it’s nicely browned flip your quesadilla over – you can use an extra spatula to support the top if you’re worried about losing the filling during your flip.

Cook for around 5 mins before transferring your quesadilla to a chopping board. Allow to cool very slightly before cutting into triangles. Repeat this process until you are all out of veggie mix, tortillas, or both! Serve with a good helping of your guacamole.

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