Quesadillas may well be the ultimate comfort food. Warm tortillas, crisp and golden, snuggling with luscious, oozing cheese. To add to its irresistibility, the melted mixture may have a little cilantro or salsa, or a smattering of spicy sausage or caramelized onion. Maybe some diced mango, sliced olives or chopped avocado. Cooked chicken. Crab meat.
It’s pure comfort for the cook and soothing delectability for the recipient.
Because they are fast and easy to prepare, they’re great for folks glued to the television. Paired with a salad, they become a satisfying meal.
Heating techniques vary. Some cooks saute quesadillas in a skillet in a little sizzling vegetable oil (or a combination of butter and oil). Others prefer the brown-them-in-the-oven approach. Others like to combine the two techniques, sauteing first, then finishing them in the oven for added crispness.
Some like to use two tortillas, stacked tortilla-filling-tortilla. Others prefer using one tortilla, folding it in half to cover the contents.
Whether they’re flat or folded, fried or baked, it’s the combination of ingredients in the filling that seems to be most important.
Any fresh Mexican cheese (white, slightly salty, fresh cheese called queso fresco that is now available in many supermarkets) or equal parts of shredded pepper Jack cheese and queso ranchero (a type of queso fresco that is commonly available) is a delicious combination in quesadillas.
But quesadilla fillings aren’t limited to Hispanic-style ingredients. Crossover quesadillas can herald a variety of continental flavors. Quasi-French open-faced quesadillas, using creamy brie cheese and sliced fresh pears. Bold Greek quesadillas are stuffed with crumbled feta cheese (the type with sun-dried tomatoes), Jack cheese, pitted Greek olives (black and green) and roasted garlic.
Alan Greeley, chef-owner of The Golden Truffle Restaurant in Costa Mesa, Calif., makes delectable quesadillas with cuitlacoche (wheet-lah-KOH-chay; corn kernels laden with a fungus that gives them a prized, smoky-sweet flavor), French black truffles and pepper Jack cheese.
“But cuitlacoche is hard to get, so I’d suggest a lobster quesadilla,” Greeley says. “Cook the lobster, cut it up and mix it with equal parts shredded cotija cheese (a type of queso fresco) and pepper Jack.”
For the best results, Greeley suggests using the uncooked, fresh flour tortillas that are sold in the refrigerated deli section of most supermarkets.
“They cook really quickly, so you need to grate the cheese finely,” he suggests. “These kind of tortillas are delicate and really, really good.”
Good? They’re great. But whether you want fancy fillings or simple, or if they’re fried, baked, flat or folded, quesadillas are super treats.
SMOKED GOUDA AND CARAMELIZED ONION QUESADILLAS
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 appetizer servings
Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine.
2 tablespoons butter plus 2 tablespoons melted butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups grated smoked gouda cheese
4 (10-inch diameter) flour tortillas
2 ounces sliced prosciutto, chopped
Freshly ground pepper
1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, brown sugar and vinegar; saute until onion is golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes, lowering heat if necessary to prevent overbrowning. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle cheese over half of each tortilla, dividing equally. Sprinkle prosciutto and sauteed onion over cheese. Season with pepper. Fold other half of each tortilla over cheese mixture. Brush tortilla with melted butter.
3. Brush heavy, large skillet with some of the melted butter. Place over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook quesadillas just until brown spots appear, brushing skillet with butter between batches, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer quesadillas to heavy, large baking sheet. Bake until tortillas are golden and cheese melts, about 5 minutes.
4. Transfer quesadillas to work surface. Cut each into 6 triangles. Arrange on platter and serve hot.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 370 Fat ………… 21 g Saturated fat …. 12 g
% calories from fat .. 52 Cholesterol … 55 mg Sodium ……… 650 mg
Carbohydrates …… 31 g Protein …….. 14 g Fiber ……….. 1.9 g
CRAB QUESADILLAS
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Vegetable oil
4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
6 ounces shredded pepper Jack cheese
1 can (6 ounces) crab meat, well-drained
1 can (4 ounces) diced mild green chilies
3 tablespoons minced cilantro
3 green onions, chopped
Sour cream, salsa, optional
1. Set all ingredients, except garnishes, next to stove. Heat about 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in medium-large skillet, preferably non-stick, on medium-high heat. Add 1 tortilla. Sprinkle with half of the following ingredients: cheese, crab meat, chilies, cilantro and green onions. Top with tortilla and press down lightly with spatula. Cook until tortilla is nicely browned and cheese is starting to melt, about 3-4 minutes. Carefully turn with flat spatula; cook opposite side until nicely browned and cheese is thoroughly melted.
2. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling ingredients. Cut each quesadilla into 8 wedges; serve hot, with sour cream and salsa if desired.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 450 Fat ………… 20 g Saturated fat ….. 9 g
% calories from fat .. 39 Cholesterol … 80 mg Sodium ……… 870 mg
Carbohydrates …… 45 g Protein …….. 26 g Fiber ……….. 4.2 g
BREAKFAST QUESADILLAS
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yield: 8 quesadillas
Adapted from “Cafe Pasqual’s Cookbook,” by Katherine Kagel.
8 eggs
7 tablespoons clarified butter, see note
8 whole-wheat tortillas
16 slices thick bacon, preferably apple-smoked bacon, fried and kept warm
1 cup guacamole, homemade or store-bought
2 cups salsa, homemade or store-bought
8 sprigs cilantro or Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1. Place eggs in large bowl; whisk vigorously until completely blended. Set aside. Heat 4 tablespoons of the clarified butter in large non-stick skillet on medium heat. When butter sizzles, add eggs; lower heat to low. Cook to desired doneness. Set aside and keep warm.
2. Heat oven to 250 degrees. In another non-stick skillet (or on griddle) over medium-high heat, heat remaining butter. When butter sizzles, place 1 tortilla on hot surface. Cook 2 minutes; turn tortilla. Place 1/8 of scrambled eggs, 2 strips bacon and 2 tablespoons guacamole in middle of tortilla. Fold tortilla in half. Cook 1 more minute to crisp tortilla. Place on jellyroll pan; put in oven. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
3. Place 2 quesadillas on each serving plate. Top with salsa and cilantro.
Test kitchen note: Clarified butter is unsalted butter that has been slowly melted, thereby evaporating most of the water and separating milk solids (which sink to bottom of pan) from golden liquid on surface, writes Sharon Tyler Herbst in “Food Lover’s Companion.” After any foam is skimmed off the top, the clear (clarified) butter is poured or skimmed off the milky residue.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 505 Fat ………… 37 g Saturated fat … 15 g
% calories from fat .. 63 Cholesterol .. 270 mg Sodium …… 1,250 mg
Carbohydrates …… 27 g Protein …….. 23 g Fiber ………. 3.5 g
