With hearty, wholesome flavours of Mexico and a rich, high-protein sauce, these quesadillas are guaranteed to hit the spot.
The quesadilla is a delicious Mexican dish consisting of a heated tortilla with melted cheese inside (‘queso’ is cheese in Spanish). Traditional quesadillas are made with corn tortillas, filled with cheese and sometimes meat, vegetables, and spices, and then folded over to be eaten by hand.
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
For quesadillas
Tortillas of your choice (corn or flour)
400 g Hey Planet Mince
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 x 140g can tomato purée
2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
1 squash, coarsely grated
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
To season and serve (optional)
Cheddar cheese, or any cheese alternative
Sweet corn
Chill
Jalapeños
Coriander
Method
Sauce:
Finely chop the onion and garlic.
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil, and sauté the onions and garlic until they are transparent.
Add the meat and sauté over high heat for approximately 4-5 minutes, until the meat turns golden and slightly crispy.
Pour the tomato purée into the pan and let it simmer for a minute.
Add the grated carrots, squash, and chopped tomatoes.
Let the meat sauce simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes.
Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.
Assembling the quesadilla:
Heat a large skillet (cast iron works great) on medium high heat. Add a small amount of oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) and spread it around the bottom of the pan with a spatula (you could use butter as well).
Take one large flour tortilla and place it in the pan. Flip the tortilla over a few times, 10 seconds between flips. Air pockets should begin to form within the tortilla.
When pockets of air begin to form, take a handful of grated cheese, sprinkle over the top of the tortilla, making sure that the cheese does not land on the pan itself. Then add the meat sauce.
Add whatever additional ingredients you choose - sweet corn, chilli, jalapeños, coriander, etc. Take care not to layer on the ingredients too thickly - this is a quesadilla, not a quiche!
Reduce the heat to low and cover the 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 begins to smoke too much, remove from the heat.
When the cheese is sufficiently melted, use a spatula to lift up one side of the quesadilla and flip over the other side, as if you were making an omelette.
The tortilla should by now be browned slightly. If it is not browned, turn the heat up to high and flip the quesadilla over every 10 seconds or so until it gets browned.
Fry the quesadillas one after another. Finally, cut them into wedges.
Serve with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.
¡Buen provecho!
Tip: If you want to make bigger portions, you can use two tortillas – one forms the base, and you place filling on the whole tortilla. Then you add the second tortilla on top as the ‘lid’. This option can be a little tricky to handle if you add a lot of filling, but it’s also twice as big!
