Chipotle Black Bean Quesadillas

Wash and dry the fresh produce. Halve, peel, and thinly slice the onion. Drain and rinse the beans. Peel the carrots; quarter lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Grate the cheddar on the large side of a box grater. Halve the radishes lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise. Place in a large bowl.

In a small pot, heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the sliced onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned and slightly softened. Add the drained beans, 1/2 cup of water (carefully, as the liquid may splatter), and as much of the chile paste as you’d like, depending on how spicy you’d like the dish to be. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 6 minutes, or until thoroughly combined and the liquid has cooked off. Turn off the heat. Taste, then season with salt and pepper if desired.

In a large pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the chorizo. Cook, stirring frequently and breaking the meat apart with a spoon, 7 to 9 minutes, or until browned and cooked through. Leaving any browned bits (or fond) in the pan, transfer to the pot of filling.

In the pan of reserved fond, heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the carrot pieces; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 6 minutes, or until lightly browned and softened. Transfer to the bowl of sliced radishes. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Wipe out the pan. 

Place the tortillas on a work surface. Top one half of each tortilla with the grated cheddar and filling; season with salt and pepper. Fold the tortillas in half over the filling. In the same pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium until hot. Working in batches, add the quesadillas. Cook 2 to 4 minutes per side, or until lightly browned and the cheese is melted (if the pan seems dry, add a drizzle of olive oil before flipping). Transfer to a cutting board and immediately season with salt. When cool enough to handle, carefully halve each cooked quesadilla.

Meanwhile, season the sour cream with salt and pepper. Serve the cooked quesadillas with the finished vegetables and seasoned sour cream on the side. Garnish the vegetables with the cotija. Enjoy!