The quesadilla is perhaps the sturdiest of staples in my roster of go-to meals. Lately, my favorite combination is the one you see here: flour tortillas with Monterrey Jack cheese, spinach, black beans, chicken and sweet potatoes. Really, all you need for a satisfying quesadilla is tortillas and cheese, but taking the time to get a few quality components together yields something far more satisfying. As a bonus, the following recipes for black beans, sauteed spinach and mashed sweet potatoes are all great side dishes on their own. I usually wind up using leftover roasted chicken, but grilled or sauteed shrimp are also a great substitution. The assembly is pretty simple, regardless of the fillings you choose, but we'll get back to that later. The following proportions should be enough for two large quesadillas. All of the ingredients can easily be multiplied.
First, the black beans: I always try to have a few cans of black beans in my pantry, usually for quesadillas. I'm a big fan of Goya black beans, as they're cheap and the liquid they're canned in seems to be a bit richer and less watery than other brands. You could just heat the beans up right out of the can and use them, but taking five minutes to dress them up is definitely worth it. For 1 15.5 oz. can of black beans, you'll need 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped; half of a small onion, diced; dried oregano; and ground cumin. Begin by draining most of the liquid from the black beans. (I know, I just said that the liquid was tasty, but for quesadillas, we want our filling to be fairly dry so that the tortillas don't get soggy.) Cook the diced onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until nearly translucent, then add the garlic. After about a minute, add the cumin and oregano. I know some folks are less fond of cumin than others, so add a few dashes at first and see what you think. As for the oregano, I usually approximate about 1/2 to 1/4 teaspoon, crumbled between my fingers as it goes into the pan. Cook for about another minute. Finally, add the black beans, cooking with the onions and garlic until thoroughly heated and slightly reduced. Set aside in a bowl.

Next, the spinach: Originally, I had a quesadilla like this with hijiki (a type of sea vegetable) and sesame seeds. When I wasn't able to find that, I approximated the hijiki filling with sauteed spinach and sesame. Begin by toasting 3 to 4 tablespoons of sesame seeds in a dry 9" to 10" skillet over medium low heat. When they begin to darken slightly and give off a roasted aroma, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and turn the heat to medium high. As soon as the seeds begin to sputter and pop, add 1 very large handful of spinach to the pan, along with a small pinch of salt, and begin tossing the spinach in the hot oil until it is just wilted and some of its moisture has evaporated. Set aside.

For the sweet potatoes: Peel 1 large sweet potato and cut it into rough, 1" chunks. Place the chunks in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam until tender and mashable. Why not boil them? Again, because we're trying to keep the moisture of the filling down. When the sweet potatoes are tender, remove them to a bowl and mash them. If you were going to serve them on their own, rather than as part of the quesadilla filling, all they would need would be a little salt, some butter and a good squeeze of fresh orange juice.

Cheese: Again, cheesiness is a very personal thing, so that's up to you. Just like a good grilled cheese sandwich, however, remember to have an even layer of cheese so that the tortillas to stick together. Two small handfuls of shredded Monterrey Jack usually work for me.

Chicken: Leftover roasted chicken is perfect here. Just tear it up into small pieces. Since we have a few different fillings, a little will go a long way.

Assembly and grilling: First, I find that heating the large (burrito-sized) flour tortillas in a 350 degree toaster oven or regular oven for about 30 seconds makes them much less prone to tearing during assembly. You don't want them toasted (yet), just warm and soft. When they're at that stage pull them from the oven and wrap them in a tea towel to keep them warm. Heat a grill pan or cast iron skillet over high heat. If you're using a gas or charcoal grill, you'll want a slightly lower heat so that your tortillas don't burn before the cheese melts. Place one tortilla on a large plate and spread a layer of shredded cheese onto the tortilla. Then spread a thin layer of the warm mashed sweet potato over the cheese. Next, add a scattering of spinach, black beans and chicken, followed by more shredded cheese and the other tortilla. Slide the tortilla from the plate into the grill and cook until your tortilla begins to crisp up and starts taking on some grill marks (turning the quesadilla 90 degrees will give you the cross-hatching). When it comes time to flip your quesadilla, I find it easiest to slid a plate over my grill pan, invert the quesadilla onto the plate and then slide it back into the pan. For a barbecue, just slide the quesadilla onto a plate, invert it into another plate and slide it back onto the grill. Repeat the grilling and turning until both sides are crisp. Remove the quesadilla to a cutting board and let it rest for about a minute so that the cheese can set up a bit. Using a large chef's knife, cut the quesadilla into quarters or eighths. Serve it with sour cream, fresh tomato salsa, grilled corn salsa, guacamole or, my favorite, Matouk's West Indian Hot Sauce.