Our guest writer Jessie (aka mscooksalot) has loved cooking and exploring recipes for as long as she can remember. Passionate about real food, she wants to know what’s in it and where it comes from. She believes that food is one of the greatest pleasures in life and can transform your experiences from the forgettable to the sublime.
And this is the perfect recipe to warm up your evening!
This is such a tasty meal - the perfect dinner to put together when you’re short on time but you want something special. You can pick up all the ingredients on the way home and have it on the table in less than 30 minutes!
I’ve deliberately not given any weights or measurements, because you won’t really need them. The important thing to remember is not to overload each quesadilla with too much filling, and to always have about 50% cheese in each one. Think of them like a fancy cheese toastie - the cheese is the glue holding it together.
I’ve kept it simple with chorizo, peppers, spring onions and cheddar but you can mix it up and use lots of fillings. You could use chopped tomatoes, red onion, sweetcorn, cooked shredded chicken, beef or pork, a tin of black beans or pinto beans, some jarred jalapeños - the list goes on.You can also use mozzarella or swiss cheese instead of cheddar.
They’re really quite versatile, and kids can enjoy assembling their own - a bit like a pizza. Flipping them might take a while to get the hang of. And if you happen to have a cast iron grill pan, then you’ll get the pretty grill marks. But otherwise a normal heavy bottomed large frying pan will do the job.
These make a great midweek dinner but equally they make a fantastic weekend feast with a few beers, some corn chips and some guacamole, sour cream and salsa on the side!
Ingredients:
1 packet soft flour tortillas - the regular size - not extra large!
mature white cheddar cheese - I like M&S Wexford Cheddar as it’s really sharp and creamy
best quality cooking chorizo - like the one I wrote about here
bunch of spring onions
1 red or yellow pepper
1 clove of garlic, crushed or minced
1 lime
small bunch of fresh coriander
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
hot sauce of your choice
light olive oil spray
heavy grill pan or large frying pan
Method:
Start by preparing your assembly line. Chop the peppers and onions into small dice - about 1cm.
In a bowl, mix the diced peppers and onions with the juice of half the lime, the garlic, some chopped coriander, a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Check the seasoning, you may need more salt or more lime juice.
Grate the cheddar. I used about 150g, for 3 quesadillas, but see how you get on. Keep the grated cheddar in a small bowl.
Peel the cooking chorizo and tear into small crumbly bits, then fry in a hot pan until crispy and transfer to a small plate.
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Heat the grill pan on medium high heat.
On a chopping board, take one flour tortilla and spray it with a little light olive oil on one side.
Then flip it over. Sprinkle a good handful of cheese over it.
Then take a handful of the chopped veggies, and scatter them too.
Repeat with some of the crispy chorizo, and then another sprinkling of the cheese and a dash of hot sauce if you like.
Be sparing with everything, except the cheese! You only want about 1 or 2cm layer of filling.
Then cover with another tortilla. Spray the top tortilla lightly.
Pick up the quesadilla with your hands, keeping it level, and transfer to the hot pan and toast it for 2 to 3 minutes.
The underside should be crispy and golden, and the cheese inside should be molten before you attempt to flip it.
Now either using a big spatula and the palm of your hand, or as I like to do, using a small side plate and a spatula, lift the quesadilla up and flip it over.
If you’ve done it right, the cheese will be holding it together anyway. Toast on this side for another 2 or 3 minutes.
Then slide it out of the pan onto a chopping board and cut into four or six slices.
Serve immediately on warm plates. Eat these with your hands, so have a napkin or two handy.
Enjoy!
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Are you tempted to try out this recipe? What is your midweek fav? We’d love to hear all about it!
If you’d like to read more from Jessie, you can check out her blog here!
