A lot of people think chipotle peppers can be pretty wuss, but that depends on the pepper that was smoked; if they were some potent jalapeños (these and annaheims are usually the peppers used to make chipotle peppers) you can get some decent heat out of them. Quesadilas are a great summer quick fix, and meat lovers can add meat, and of course you can eat them with guacamole, sour cream, Spanish rice, mojitos, any number of things. In other words, they're quick, easy, flavorful, and versatile.
(shown open so ingredients are visible)
Preparation: ca. 20 mins. (ca. 2 mins. each quesadila afterward)
Cooking: ca. 20 mins. (ca. 5 mins. each quesadila afterward)
Servings: 10 (1 serving = 2 quesadilas)
Today's Specimen
Ingredients
- 10 10" four tortillas
- 1 (14 oz.) can black refried beans (low fat)
- 2 poblano peppers (about 3 - 3½ cups), diced
- 2 medium yellow onions (about 4 - 4½ cups), diced
- 3 small or 2 medium tomatoes (about 2 - 2½ cups), diced
- 3 avocados (about 2½ - 3 cups), pitted and peeled and sliced 1" by 1"
- 2 (7 oz.) cans chipotle peppers, sliced if whole (Herdez® is good)
- 3 cups Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar®, grated
- 2 clloves garlic (about 1 tbsp.), finely diced
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ tsp. oregano
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 2 tbsp canola oil
Directions
- In a large frying pan or saucepan on medium heat saute the onions and poblano in the oil until the onions begin to become slightly transparent.
- Add the garlic, chipotle peppers (with the sauce), spices, and water and simmer — stirring occasionally — until the chipotle sauce is evenly mixed and becomes thick; about ten to fifteen minutes. Set aside when done and rinse the pan and wipe with a paper towel. You can include the tomatoes with the other ingredients at this point if you want them cooked, but I personally prefer them cold.
- Take ten tortillas and assemble the quesadillas by first smearing about a quarter or a third of a cup (a thin layer) on half of the tortilla, adding about a quarter of a cup of cheese, then about a quarter of a cup of the pepper-onion mixture. You want a thin layer of refried beans topped by a thin layer of cheese, topped by a thicker layer of the pepper-onion mix. The cheese is very sharp, so you don't need much. Fold and stack when done. While you're doing this you ought to have the frying pan/saucepan on the stove at a medium temperature.
- Cook each quesadilla in the frying pan or saucepan, on medium heat, until both sides are browned and maybe even slightly charred and the cheese inside is well melted. Open and spoon about a quarter to a third of a cup of tomato and a slightly less amount of sliced avocado, put your preferred salsa or sauce in it, then close again and serve.
- Both guacamole and sour cream go great with this. If you're using guacamole omit the avocado slices from the recipe; if you're using sour cream consider using a crema agria Mexicana or Mexican-style sour cream — it's thicker and richer.
Next Time in the Lab
The only things I can think of doing to this recipe would be adding shredded marinated pork or chicken, which would simply turn this into a non-vegetarian spicy chipotle quesadila. I suppose I could toss a habanero into the chili-onion mix to heat it up, but that hardly seems necessary. No, I like this just as it is.
I'll always listen to comments, though.
