I grew up making quesadillas, the benefit of having a Hispanic mother who is a great cook. "Queso" is cheese in Spanish. And a quesadilla is a toasted tortilla with melted cheese inside. But in addition to cheese, you can put practically anything in a quesadilla. My favorites are mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, and onions. I don't cook these ingredients first, but it really is a matter of taste. You could if you wanted to.
Quesadilla
Ingredients
- Large flour tortillas
- Grated cheese - either mild or sharp cheddar, or Monterey Jack or feta for a new twist on an old favorite
- Olive oil or grapeseed oil
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- Optional Ingredients:
- Sliced mushrooms
- Green onions
- Black olives, sliced
- Fresh tomatoes, diced
- cooked chicken, shrimp, pork or steak pieces
- Avocado or anything else you'd like
- Sour cream salsa
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- Serve with sour cream, salsa and guacamole
Make it a Meal
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Directions
- Heat a large cast iron frying pan to medium high heat. Add a small amount of oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) or for a skinny options use olive oil cooking spray. Or go full fat (yum) and use real butter - no margarine, please. Take one large flour tortilla and place it in the pan. Flip the tortilla over a few times, 10 seconds between flips. Air pockets should begin to form within the tortilla.
- Add cheese carefully and add whatever additional ingredients you choose - green onion, sliced mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, etc.
- Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. The cast iron pan should be hot enough by now to have plenty of residual heat to melt the cheese and brown the tortilla. When the cheese is sufficiently melted, use a spatula to lift up one side of the quesadilla and flip over the other side, as if you were making an omelette. The tortilla should by now be browned slightly. If it is not browned, turn the heat up to high and flip the quesadilla over every 10 seconds or so until it gets browned. Remove from pan and cut into wedges.
- Serve with the lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.