There are several ways to prepare quesadillas. They may be cooked in a skillet with butter, margarine, or Pam. You may use two small flour tortillas or one large tortilla, folded over. They may be cooked on a grill after being brushed with melted butter, or they may be microwaved as in the recipe below.
Quesadillas may be served as an entree or cut into wedges and served as an appetizer. They are usually served with salsa as a topper.
2 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese or other quesadilla cheese
2 Tbsp minced green onion with tops
2 Tbsp canned or fresh diced green chiles (New Mexican, Jalapeno, or Poblano)
Salsa of your choice
Place all ingredients on 1 tortilla on microwave plate. Place second tortilla on top. Microwave on Hi for 30 - 60 seconds, or until cheese is melted. Cut into wedges. Serve with salsa. Serves 2 as an appetizer.
2 poblano chiles or 4 long green chiles,
or use jalapenos, if desired
Nonstick cooking spray
4 (10") flour tortillas
3/4 lb. Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced
2 green onions, trimmed and sliced
Prepare chiles as directed elsewhere (blister, peel, seed and chop), or use canned. Lightly spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Lay 1 tortilla in the skillet. Arrange half the cheese evenly over the tortilla, covering it completely. Scatter half the chiles and half the onions over the cheese. Top with a second tortilla. Spray the upper tortilla lightly with the nonstick spray. Weight the quesadilla with a plate and cook 2-3 minutes, or until the bottom tortilla is crisp and lightly browned. Remove the plate and turn quesadilla with a long spatula. Weight it again and cook it another 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Slide onto cutting board and cut into 4 to 6 wedges. Transfer to plate and serve immediately. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Keep a bowl of Pico de Gallo or other salsa close at hand.
Note: Leftover grilled chicken or shrimp are also good sprinkled over cheese!
QUESADILLAS
These quesadillas are mild and creamy. Recipe may be doubled.
INGREDIENTS:
--3 tablespoons canola oil
-- 10 tortillas (from Chile Black Pepper Tortilla recipe)
-- 5 ounces white cheese, such as Monterey Jack or manchego, cut into 10 thin slices
-- 3 tablespoons finely grated anejo cheese or Parmesan cheese
-- 1/4 cup finely minced onion
--Chipotle Salsa (see recipe)
INSTRUCTIONS: Heat the oil in a 9-inch skillet over medium heat.
Place 2 tortillas at a time in the skillet, not overlapping. Place
a thin slice of cheese on the side of each tortilla and fold over
to enclose the filling.
Fry quesadillas on both sides until slightly toasted. Remove from
the pan and blot with paper towels. Arrange quesadillas on a
platter. While hot, dust each with some of the grated anejo cheese
and sprinkle with the minced onion.
Serve with Chipotle Salsa.
Serves 4.
PER SERVING: 360 calories, 13 g protein, 24 g carbohydrate, 23 g
fat (8 g saturated), 35 mg cholesterol, 530 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.
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CHILE BLACK PEPPER TORTILLAS
This produces an earthy-flavored burnished red tortilla that looks
as good as it tastes.
INGREDIENTS:
-- 1 cup masa harina
-- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
-- 1 tablespoon chile powder
-- 1/2 teaspoon salt
-- 2/3 cup water
-- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
INSTRUCTIONS: Stir together masa, pepper, chile powder and salt in
a mixing bowl. Gradually add the water, stirring with a fork until
you have a soft dough.
Sprinkle flour on a work surface. Turn out dough and knead for 1
minute. Cover dough with an upside-down mixing bowl; let rest for
20 minutes. Cut 2 squares of plastic wrap large enough to fit the
tortilla press. Place on bottom of the press. Pinch off a small
ball of dough (about a tenth of the dough) and put in the press.
Cover with second piece of plastic. Gently press. (You don't want a
paper-thin tortilla or you will have difficulty peeling it off the
plastic.) Gently peel off top piece of plastic by starting from the
side nearest the handle. Peel off bottom plastic by gently peeling
from the handle side. If you find the dough or tortilla is
difficult to handle, sprinkle remaining dough with a few teaspoons
of all-purpose flour, knead and press the next tortilla. (If you
press tortillas all at once before cooking, cover them as you go
with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out.)
Place tortilla on a preheated comal or griddle. Cook for 40
seconds, then lift and look at the bottom. If tortilla is speckled,
turn it over and cook for another 40 seconds. These tortillas
should be undercooked slightly so they will fold easily into
quesadillas without cracking. Repeat with remaining dough. Yields
10.
PER TORTILLA: 45 calories, 1 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat
(0 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 108 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.
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CHIPOTLE SALSA
INGREDIENTS:
-- 10 tomatillos, husks removed
-- 3 dried chipotle or morita chiles
-- Boiling water
-- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
-- 1/2 teaspoon salt
-- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
INSTRUCTIONS: Char the tomatillos over a gas burner just until
slightly blackened. Do not soften. I use a little grill, called the
Asador, that fits over a burner. Set tomatillos aside.
Soften chiles in boiling water for 20 minutes. (Or, cover the dried
chiles with water, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave at high
for 3 minutes.) Drain the chiles and remove the seeds from the
softened chiles.
Place the tomatillos, chipotles, garlic, salt and lime juice in a
food processor or blender, and puree into a smooth sauce.
Serve with quesadillas. Yields about 1 1/4 cups salsa.
PER TABLESPOON: 5 calories, 0 g protein, 1 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat
( 0 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 56 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.
Quesadillas
from Hotter Than Hell by Jane Butel
6 flour tortillas -- 9-10 inch
1 cup Monterey jack cheese -- shredded
1/4 cup jalapeno peppers, fresh or pickled -- thinly sliced
1 egg white -- slightly beaten
vegetable oil -- for deep-frying
6 small leaves red leaf lettuce
1 ripe red tomato -- diced
1 recipe Guacamole -- see recipe
Put 3 tortillas on a work surface near range. Distribute 1/3 cup cheese over each
tortilla, leaving a 1 inch margin around edges. Sprinkle tortillas evenly with jalapenos.
Top eachtortilla with another tortilla. Seal edges, using a fork to crimp about 1/2 an
inch aroun entire perimeter. If tortillas are not fresh & moist, you may need to brush
edges of tortillas with egg white to make them stick together. In a large heavy skillet,
heat 1/2 inch of oil to 375F. Fry tortilla "sandwiches" , 1 at a time, until
golden on both sides; use 2 spatulas for turning to avoid splattering oil. Drain well. Cut
each "sandwich" into sixths & serve immediately on warm plates; garnish each
plate with a lettuce leaf & guacamole sprinkled with diced tomatoes.
Makes 6 servings or 1 1/2 dozen appetizers.
Brie and Papaya Quesadillas
from Southwest Tastes (of the series Great Chefs of the West)
Flour tortillas
Brie cheese, in slices
1 ripe papaya (yellow and fragrant)
1/2 white onion, sliced and blanched slightly
1 Hatch or long green Chile, roasted, peeled and sliced
2 TBS oil
Layer the cheese and papaya. A couple of pieces of papaya should do it.
Sprinkle a few onion pieces and the chiles, fold, brush with oil and fry
until the outside begins to brown and the cheese is melted. Cut into
wedges.
The person who sent this in said: I've made these for many parties and always get
"oohs and Ahhs". Of course for chileheads, habaneros may be substituted for the
wimpy Hatch chiles.