Chicken, lime and coriander was the best bagel filling at the Edinburgh-based Elephants and Bagels (sadly now closed), and I’ve been making versions as sandwich fillings ever since. Then it occurred to me that, along with black beans (for plant points) and mozzarella (for melt), it would also make the perfect quesadilla filling, and was happily proved right. If you have leftover roast chicken from the weekend, this is a lovely way to use it up; if not, I’ve included a quick 15-minute poached chicken method. Use the grating attachment on a food processor to make the slaw in minutes; if not, a box grater will do the job.
Chicken, lime and coriander quesadillas with carrot and beetroot slaw
Prep 20 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 2 today, 2 tomorrow
250g free-range chicken breasts, cut into 2½cm chunks
750ml hot chicken stock
Flaky sea salt
25g bag coriander, stems reserved, leaves finely chopped
2 limes, 3 wide strips of zest peeled off one (use a potato peeler), the rest of the zest finely grated, then juiced
40g mayonnaise
40g natural or Greek yoghurt
150g mozzarella, roughly chopped
400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
4 soft tortilla wraps
2 tbsp olive oil
For the slaw
1 lime, juiced
20ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled and grated
2 large beetroot, peeled and grated
Put the chicken in a saucepan with the stock (or boiling water), coriander stems and strips of lime zest; if you’re using water or unsalted stock, add a teaspoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to just below a simmer – you want just the odd bubble breaking the surface – and poach the chicken for 15 minutes, until cooked through.
Meanwhile, mix the coriander leaves, grated lime zest and the juice, mayonnaise, yoghurt, mozzarella and black beans in a bowl and set aside.
In another bowl, make the salad: whisk the lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil and one teaspoon sea salt, then stir in the grated carrot and beetroot. Taste and adjust the salt as needed, then set aside.
Drain the cooked chicken and discard the coriander stems and lime zest. Finely chop the chicken and add it to the black-bean mix. Taste and adjust the salt as needed, then divide equally between the wraps and fold them neatly in half.
Brush the outsides of the wraps with olive oil. Put a griddle pan or large frying pan on a medium heat, then fry two quesadillas at a time (if they’ll fit in your pan) for three to four minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Serve two wraps immediately with half the salad, and cool and refrigerate the other two for lunchboxes tomorrow.
