Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed
Saliha is an NHS doctor, MasterChef UK Champion 2017, cookbook author (Khazana) and winner of OFM Best new cookbook 2019.
Saliha’s Bean Quesadillas with Guacamole
Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed
Featuring:
Effort:
Complexity:
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In season now
Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Ingredients:
FOR THE QUESADILLAS
120g (4oz) tinned sweetcorn
1 x 400g (14oz) tin mixed beans, drained
120g (4oz) grated Manchego cheese (or 150g/5oz grated Cheddar cheese)
½ tsp chilli flakes (or black pepper if your kids don’t like spice)
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
1 tsp garlic granules
4 spring onions, white parts only, thinly sliced
Handful of finely chopped parsley leaves
8 tortilla wraps (corn and wheat mix), about 20cm (8in) in diameter
FOR THE GUACAMOLE
2 avocados
4 spring onions, green parts only, thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp sumac
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Handful of finely chopped parsley
Flaky sea salt
This Middle Eastern-Mexican mash-up is designed to become a family favourite. Beany, cheesy ooziness against buttery avocado and tart sumac is the definition of a dream dinner. My children ask for this dish often. Thankfully it is really easy to make.
Method:
- Combine the sweetcorn, beans, cheese, chilli flakes, pomegranate molasses, garlic granules, spring onions and parsley in a bowl. Mash together lightly with a fork to break some of the beans down a bit and mix everything together well.
- Spread a quarter of this mixture on to a tortilla and top with another tortilla, pressing firmly to sandwich everything together. Repeat to make 4 quesadillas in total.
- Halve and stone the avocados and use a spoon to scoop out the avocado flesh into a bowl. Add the spring onions, lemon juice, sumac, chilli flakes, olive oil and parsley to the avocado and roughly mash everything together. Season with salt to taste.
- Heat a non-stick pan over a medium-low heat. Place a quesadilla in the pan and toast on each side for 3–4 minutes, or until golden on each side. Repeat until all the quesadillas are cooked. Cut in half with a sharp knife before serving with the guacamole.
Engaging Kids
Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating.
Kids in the kitchen
The eventual aim, if possible, is to get kids in the kitchen. Don’t worry, this doesn’t have to mean they are with you from start-to-end creating mess and rising stress levels! It can be as simple as giving them one small job (stirring, measuring, pouring, grating, chopping…) ideally involving veg. They can come in to do their little bit, and have fun with you for a few minutes. Getting them involved, making it playful and praising them plenty for their involvement, perhaps even serving it as dinner they “made”, makes it much more likely they will eat the food offered, not to mention teaching them important life skills. Find ideas, safety tips, videos and even a free chart in our Kids in the Kitchen section here.
Activities
While getting kids to interact with veggies for real and using their senses to explore them is best, encouraging hands off activities like arts & crafts, puzzles & games or at-home science experiments can be a great start, particularly for those who are fussier eaters or struggle with anything too sensory. Use these veg-themed activities as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. We have loads of crafty downloads here, puzzles here, and quirky science with veg here.
Sensory
Once you feel your child is ready to engage a little more, you can show them how to explore the veg you have on hand with their senses, coming up with playful silly descriptions of how a veg smells, feels, looks, sounds and perhaps even tastes. Find ideas, videos and some simple sensory education session ideas to get you started here.
Serving
The moments before food is offered can be a perfect opportunity for engagement that can help make it more likely a child will eat it! Giving children a sense of ownership in the meal can make a big difference to their feelings going into it and the pride they take in it. You know your child best, but if you aren’t sure where to start, we have some fun and simple ideas for easy roles you can give them in the serving process over here.
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