Fill quesadillas with ingredients that please kids, adults
The grilled cheese sandwiches of my childhood were supplanted by quesadillas during my children’s early years.
As quesadillas became common in Tex-mex restaurants in the early 1990s, a coworker told me how to make them at home. She was not a fan of elaborate home cooking. Simple prep, short cook time and easy cleanup were her priorities.
That was my criteria for weighing dinner options as my children came along. What can I throw together quickly to feed the kids? Melted cheese between two layers of flour tortillas always was a hit.
My coworker gave me not so much a recipe but rather a few pointers on how to make the handheld “sandwich” grilled in a skillet. The hardest part was flipping the quesadilla without spilling the contents after one tortilla was a toasty brown so that the other side could be heated the same way.
Two important decisions are using a melty cheese and cutting the ingredients small enough to keep the quesadilla to about no more than a 1⁄2-inch thickness.
What makes a quesadilla stand out from its tortilla cousins is the warming on a flattop or large skillet. That heat makes the soft tortilla slightly stiffer, which helps when the quesadilla is quartered and picked up by the hand to eat.
That extra stiffness also means the cooked tortillas can be finished with a smear of crema, hot sauce or mashed avocado for extra flavor.
As my children matured, so too did the quesadilla fillings. We moved from cheese quesadillas with grated Cheddar or Colbyjack to Mexican cheeses, such as Asadero, Queso Fresco or Panela.
Adding a few spoonsful of spicy ground beef or leftover chicken chopped fine made the quesadillas heartier.
Like tacos and burritos, quesadillas can be filled with as many ingredient combinations as you can imagine.
Following is a recipe for a mushroomand-spinach mixture livened with green chiles. It’s a good way to sneak some dark greens into the diet of those family members who think they hate spinach.
The vegetarian quesadilla is filling, but it can be fortified with small cooked shrimp for extra protein.
I would have never added shrimp to my childhood grilled cheese sandwiches, but it’s a delightful addition to a quesadilla.
Share your favorite recipes or foodrelated historical recollections by emailing Laura Gutschke at laura.gutschke@reporternews.com.
Mushroom and spinach quesadillas
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 to 12 ounces of fresh baby portabella or white button mushrooms, sliced and coarsely chopped
1 bundle green onions, sliced thin
(including green tops)
1 (4-ounce) can green chiles, chopped 2-3 cups baby spinach, rough chopped Optional: 1⁄2 pound small shrimp, peeled
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste Granulated garlic to taste
Dash cayenne pepper
6 8- to 10-inch flour tortillas
1 ⁄2-2 cups Asadero, Queso Fresco or Panela cheese, grated (or Colby or a blend of cheeses that melt easily) Condiments: Sour cream, crema, sliced avocado and/or salsa
In a large skillet (I prefer nonstick), melt the butter and heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the mushrooms, onions and green chiles, and sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, if necessary, to avoid burning the vegetables.
Add the spinach (and optional shrimp) and sauté until the greens are wilted (and shrimp cooked through), about 3-4 minutes. Season mixture to taste with salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper.
When mixture is cooked down and well blended, remove from heat. Transfer mushroom mixture to a plate or bowl. Use a paper towel to wipe the skillet clean. Place skillet back on heat to begin reheating the pan.
Place a tortilla in the skillet. Add a small handful of cheese, about 1⁄2 cup of mushroom mixture, another layer of cheese and top with a second tortilla. As the double layers of cheese melt, they bind the ingredients together. (Note: Another cooking method is to halve the amount of filling ingredients and place on one side of a tortilla. Fold the other tortilla half on top.)
Use the back of a spatula to gently press the top of the tortilla and compress slightly the ingredients. Heat the tortilla 2-4 minutes, or until the bottom tortilla is a golden brown. Flip the mixture over and heat the other tortilla until golden brown. Remove quesadilla to a plate and let cool for 1-2 minutes before cutting into quarters. Repeat steps 6 and 7 to make two more quesadillas.
Serve with optional sour cream, crema, sliced avocado and/or salsa.