In its most basic form, a quesadilla is simply a grilled tortilla with melted cheese inside, but you can add as many additional fillings as you like. Quesadillas were created when the Spanish brought dairy products to Mexico in the 1500s. Mexicans then combined cheese – named ‘queso’ in Spanish – with tortillas to create a number of dishes, including the quesadilla.
How to make quesadillas
For this recipe from Simplyrecipes.com, you will need:
- Large flour tortillas
- Grated cheese – either Monterey Jack or sharp Cheddar
- Olive oil or butter
Optional:
- Sliced mushrooms
- Green onions
- Sliced black olives
- Fresh tomatoes, diced
- Chicken pieces
- Avocado
- Lettuce
- Apple cider vinegar
- Salt
READ MORE: How to make margaritas
Lower the heat and cover the pan: Reduce the heat to low and cover the skillet or pan.
The pan should be hot enough by now to have plenty of residual heat to melt the cheese and brown the tortilla.
If the quesadilla starts to smoke, remove from the heat immediately. After one minute, check to see if the cheese has melted.
If not, return the cover on the skillet and continue checking every minute or so until the cheese has melted.
Fold the tortilla over: When the cheese is melted enough, use a spatula to lift up one side of the quesadilla and flip over the other side, as though making an omelette.
The tortilla should by now be browned slightly. If not, turn the heat up to high and flip the quesadilla over every 10 seconds or so until browned.
Next, remove the quesadilla from the pan and slice into wedges.
To make lettuce accompanying the quesadilla, thinly slice some iceberg lettuce before sprinkling with some apple cider vinegar and salt.