#GreenMondaySA: Cheesy quesadillas with eggplant and mushroom filling

Image: Pieter Kotze

Ingredients

For the stringy cheese

½ cup of Almond Breeze Original Milk*
Two tablespoons of Coconut Oil
One cup of almond milk
Three tablespoons of tapioca flour
Three tablespoons of nutritional yeast
One teaspoon garlic powder
One teaspoon celery salt
One teaspoon English mustard powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
One tablespoon lemon juice

For the oven roasted eggplant

One large eggplant
One tablespoon of cumin
One tablespoon of paprika
Two tablespoons of celery salt

For the creamy brown mushroom sauce

200 g sliced mushrooms
One tablespoon of coconut oil
½ white onion diced
Two teaspoons of fresh thyme
Two cloves of garlic, crushed
One teaspoon of beef-flavoured stock
Two tablespoons of reduced balsamic or one tablespoon of Hoisin sauce
One cup of Almond Breeze Milk
One teaspoon of arrowroot powder or organic corn flour

Instructions

Stringy cheese

Place ½ cup Almond Breeze Original Milk* and two tablespoons of coconut oil in a thick base pot on the stove top.
Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl until smooth.
Slightly heat the Almond Breeze and coconut oil in the pot and add mixing bowl contents.
Keep on whisking until it starts to get lumpy.
Turn the heat to the lowest setting and scrape the bottom of the pot continuously using a wooden spoon.
Keep scraping for about four to five minutes.
Remove from stove top and set aside.

Oven roasted eggplant

Slice eggplant in 1cm circles.
Mix the spices together and sprinkle to taste on the circles. (Don’t use the entire mixture, it will be too salty.)
Place eggplant in a mixing bowl, add a drizzle of olive oil and mix through by hand.
Place eggplant slices in one layer on a large baking tray and bake in the oven at 180°C for 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and transfer to kitchen towels to drain.

Creamy brown mushroom sauce

Fry mushrooms, onions, garlic and herbs in the coconut oil.
Add mushrooms and cook until translucent.
Sprinkle with stock powder and reduced balsamic.
Mix arrowroot with milk and add to the sauce.
Cook on low heat until thick and creamy.

Build your quesadilla:

Spread a layer of stringy cheese on the base of your quesadilla.
Add a layer of eggplant and top with creamy brown mushroom sauce.
Cover with another quesadilla and quickly place in sandwich press or oven to crisp up.

Don’t have quesadillas? The filling is fantastic in burgers, tacos and wraps too!

Recipe and photos by Pieter Kotze for HSI, Africa