Chicken, Siracha Mayo and Avocado Quesadillas

Okay so I’ve just started working as a Barista. After my first closing shift I was absolutely exhausted (hopefully my stamina will build up a bit more over time). I came home and Ollie had made me the most delicious, and comforting, meal.

A twist on a couple of our go-to staples, this is a really effective one if there’s not much in the fridge because you can customise it any way you want. For instance, quesadillas are normally with tortillas but we used big round pitas. If I’m honest, all of our cooking is like that, so I’ll give you the bare bones and then you can run off and make them however you want!

Makes 6

Ingredients:

• 6 tortillas or pita halves

• 2 to 3 chicken breasts (dependent on size)

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 red pepper, chopped

• 1 green pepper, chopped

• Sizeable chunk of chorizo (to taste basically), chopped

• Cheese

• 1 avocado

• Siracha chilli sauce

• Mayonnaise

• Smoked Paprika

• Cumin

• Salt

• Pepper

• Basil

• Half a lime

• Olive Oil

• Chilli flakes

Method:

Firstly prepare the chicken, cutting away any fatty bits you don’t want and then slicing into smallish chunks. Season in a bowl with the smoked paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and basil to taste. We usually do around a teaspoon of cumin and maybe two to three of paprika.

Put on a medium to high heat and cook for around 5 to 10 minutes before adding the garlic, pepper and chorizo. Stir together well – I like to make sure my chorizo is nice and crispy so I use quite a high heat – and add in the lime juice and a sprinkle of chilli flakes, again to taste. Once everything is cooked through, take off the heat and leave to the side.

In a small bowl mix together some mayonnaise and siracha. If you’ve never made it before, prepare to have your life changed. We put it on everything now and barely touch ketchup. You want enough mayo to be able to spread over the 6 quesadillas. Siracha amounts vary according to how much quick you want. I’d recommend adding in bits at a time until you’ve hit the sweet spot.

In another bowl pop in the sliced avocado (peeled and sliced) and mush with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. You can also add chopped spring onion and chilli flakes if you feel like it! Finally grate some cheese in a bowl – again personal preference but when this melts it’s what makes the whole quesadilla stick together, so I’d recommend using… a lot.

Now it’s time to make the magic happen. If you’re using tortillas pile everything onto one half of the tortilla. I’d do mayo, avocado, chicken mix and then cheese, before folding the other half on top. Heat up a pan with some oil (not too much otherwise it’ll get super greasy, at a medium-high heat (too hot and it’ll burn without melting the cheese enough). Once the pan is hot carefully place the quesidillas in. It can be tricky to do this without spilling everything out, another reason we used pita bread. But as long as you’re slow and steady it should be okay. Flip half way through and cook until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is a golden colour.

But I guess the beauty of this dish is you could probably make it with just about anything in your fridge. Next time you’re stuck, pop it in a quesadilla or top it with some siracha mayo… that’s my advice.

- Tessa Ani & Ollie Page