Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas

Instructions

1. 1

   Use 20 cm flour tortillas weighing about 40 g each, made without animal fat, and cheddar labelled suitable for vegetarians. Scrub the sweet potato and cut into 1 cm cubes. Drain and rinse the beans, measuring 240 g drained weight, and lightly mash them in a bowl. Grate the cheese.

2. 2

   Preheat the empty air fryer to 190°C/375°F for 3 minutes. Toss the sweet potato with 10 ml olive oil, the cumin, smoked paprika and salt.

3. 3

   Spread half the sweet potato in a single layer in the basket. Air-fry at 190°C/375°F for 14 minutes, shaking after 7 minutes, until tender when pierced. Transfer to the bean bowl. Repeat with the remaining sweet potato for another 14 minutes, shaking halfway through. If necessary, give either batch another 2 minutes at the same temperature until tender.

4. 4

   Lightly mash the sweet potato into the beans, leaving some texture. Divide this filling equally among the eight tortillas, spreading it over one half of each and leaving a 1 cm border. Add 20 g cheese to each, fold over and press gently closed. Secure each closed edge with a wooden toothpick. Lightly brush both outer surfaces with the remaining 5 ml oil.

5. 5

   Set the air fryer to 180°C/350°F. Arrange two folded quesadillas flat in a single layer, with their straight edges facing each other and a small gap between them; do not overlap. Air-fry for 8 minutes, carefully turning after 4 minutes. Check each filling with a food thermometer: it must reach 74°C/165°F. If needed, continue at the same temperature in 1–2-minute increments.

6. 6

   Repeat with the remaining quesadillas in three more batches, using the same temperature, timing, turning and thermometer check. Transfer finished batches to a serving plate and cover loosely with another plate while the rest cook. Allow about 70 minutes for preheating, both sweet potato batches, all four quesadilla batches and batch changes.

7. 7

   Remove and count out all toothpicks. Serve two folded quesadillas per person with 30 g tomato salsa each.