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Quesadillas are my main food group and have been for several years. They constitute about 50-70% of my diet, depending on what life stage I’m in: how busy I am, how low my bank account is, or how much late night drinking I’m doing.
They’re so simple, so delicious, so quick to make, and so filling. To boot, the ingredients last a long time in my fridge and are pretty damn cheap. Need I say more?
Quesadillas have been my BFF for a long time. They were right there with me for almost every meal when I was broke in college. They held my hand while I was opening restaurants and was too busy to cook. They whispered *I got you girl* when I was stumbling into my apartment at 2am after a night of drinking in my early 20s. And more often today, they provide a quick meal that I can prepare and eat while I’m grinding through emails (including this one!) I love you quesadillas!
I’m not gonna lie, I was struggling with what to share for this week’s Sobremesa. I had to phone a friend.
Of COURSE! Good ole’ quesadillas! And you may be thinking “le duh,I know how to do that…” So I’m not expecting to wow you with my culinary skills. But I do want to keep it real and remind you that sometimes the simplest meals are the f*cking best. And that’s the case with these ‘dillas .
I will share some tricks I’ve learned along the way to make you the best quesadillas yet. Note that these are definitely not *traditional Mexican quesadillas.” These are my American girl take on the iconic recipe.
Get good tortillas if you can! Like how I preach about the right bread making all the difference for your toast or sandwiches, it is exactly the same with tortillas. Look for fresh if you can (which is difficult to find…so definitely will not fault you for getting the store bought). If you’re in NYC, go to my favorite spot For All Things Good and get their homemade corn tortillas or grab some Vista Hermosa flour tortillas.
Add canned refried beans! These add a creamy texture and add protein.
Keep it on low heat so that the cheese can melt. Then at the end you can bump it up to high heat so that the tortillas get crispy.
Let it rest - After you pull it off the pan, you’ll want to let it sit for a minute or two so that all the cheese sets together.
Make a little avocado side salad - I quickly toss together some chopped avocado, cherry tomato, EVOO, salt, and pepper. I can eat these as a side, or I also top it over the ‘dilla. It’s kinda like a bootleg guacamole.
This is my super basic recipe, but build away from here! Add veggies, meats, herbs…go crazy!
Quesadilla
Ingredients:
Tortillas (either flour or corn, it’s up to you!)
Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
Refried Beans
Avocado
Cherry Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Now do it!
Spread your refried beans onto one tortilla.
Sprinkle cheese.
Heat a non-stick pan to medium-low heat.
Place your cheesy / beany tortilla in the pan and cover with the second tortilla
Let’s the cheese melt slooowly and press the top tortilla down every so often to make sure it’s nice and tight.
When it’s melted, bring up the eat to high to get a nice charr on the tortilla.
Flip and charr the other side.
Remove from the pan and let it rest for 1 minute on your cutting board before slicing.
Meanwhile, make a lil’ avocado/tomato salad: slice your cherry tomatoes and avocado and add to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Stir.
Slice up your ‘dilla and serve on a plate with the avocado salad.
Happy Cooking,
Love ya mucho.
Tessa