quesadillas with guacamole

method

A quesadilla is basically a Mexican-style stuffed pancake, like a toasted sandwich, made with two tortillas sandwiched together with a cheese-based filling. They are warmed through and served with guacamole and sour cream. They are one of my favorite things to eat – Jools and I tend to have them every Saturday because we love them!

To make the guacamole I use 2 or 3 ripe avocados, 2 or 3 ripe deseeded tomatoes and a couple of deseeded red chillies, and I throw all this into a food processor with a handful of peeled and chopped spring onions and a good handful of fresh coriander. Once this has been chopped up nice and fine, I add a couple more chopped tomatoes, a good pinch of salt and half of another avocado, chopped, to give it a nice chunky texture. Transfer everything into a bowl and season carefully with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a good squeeze of lemon or lime juice. If you decide to buy ready-made guacamole, which is a bit lazy but probably very realistic, you can put it into a bowl and chirp it up a bit with a squeeze of lemon juice, a little extra salt and a bit of chili to give it a kick.

To fill the quesadillas you will need a couple of big handfuls of grated Cheddar and/or red Leicester cheese, some finely sliced spring onions, a couple of handfuls of chopped fresh coriander, and a red pepper and some red or green chillies all deseeded and finely chopped. Mix all this up in a bowl and then sprinkle half a handful between two layers of tortilla. You can make up 4, 10 or even 20 quesadillas and keep them in the fridge until you need them if you want.

Some people like to fry them in oil, but this makes them greasy and is not all that healthy. You can grill them, but I like to put them in a dry non-stick frying pan on a medium heat, so that after about a minute and a half on each side you are left with a really crispy outside and an oozy, stringy filling. Serve the quesadillas cut into quarters, with the guacamole, sour cream and a beer.

PS You can also posh them up a bit using grilled chicken or seafood, leftover pork, shellfish, or a selection of grilled vegetables.

• from Jamie's Dinners

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1. by Jules on Wed 13 Jul 2011 @ 06:02

Jamie, I adore your simple, honest, fresh cooking with real ingredients that are easy to prepare. Thanks for making so easy to put good, proper and healthy food on the table for our family. We are watching 30 minute meals here in Oz at the moment and my four year old and I have made many of the meals together - she's always giving me tips like 'put a wet cloth under the board, that's what Jamie does'! Keep up the amazing work. Jules

2. by Gabriela on Thu 30 Jun 2011 @ 13:22

Olá, sou do Brasil e adoro seu programa que passa no GNT gostaria muito de receber as receitas do banquete italiano expresso: sanduíche com focaccia e legumes marinados, prosciutto com rémoulade a mussarela de búfalo com pesto consegui anotar, mas não consegui pegar os outros por favor, como faço para conseguir essas receitas? Um beijo grande Gabriela

3. by inexcelsis17 on Thu 23 Jun 2011 @ 17:13

AHHHHHH! don't use british store-bought guacamole!!! it's the grossest thing in the world! if you put the lime juice (lime compliments the coriander much better than lemon in this) on the avocado first it should keep it from browning. and monterey jack would be much, much better than cheddar if you can get a hold of it. i loved the idea of doing it in a dry frying pan. i'd been grilling mine previously, but this worked much better. i'll be doing it this way from now on. thanks!

4. by :D on Tue 10 May 2011 @ 16:06

Actually that´s not a quesadilla that´s a sincronizada....in Mexico the quesadilla its only a fold tortilla with cheese...if you place something inside different than beans, then it´s a sincronizada!!!

5. by Leonna Maria on Sat 18 Dec 2010 @ 02:19

Olá, a sua página é só em Inglês???
Adoro o seu modo de cozinhar!!!
Sds.

6. by Sarah Jane on Fri 24 Apr 2009 @ 15:17

Here are some other ideas that work for me - having played around with quesadillas for a few years. I'm sure no Mexican would recognize them as quesadillas, but friends eating them at my BBQs always asked for more! I make them in advance to get the flavors flowing inside and so you can get an early start on alcohol consumption. Not too early though or they might get soggy.

Lightly wipe the inside of baking foil with oil and place first tortilla on it (corn ones are my favourite). Don't tear off the foil from the roll, just pull out more of the same piece as you assemble it. Add ingedients to taste as below. Gently press down 2nd tortilla on top. Grease next section of foil. Fold over and overlap a few inches. Then roll each corner of foil in until it hits tortilla. This keeps it nice and secure. Use big spatula to slap on the BBQ. Hot but not on a direct flame. Once insides are heated/melted and just slighty cooked, rip off the foil and quickly toast each side on hot part of BBQ to get them *just* black in places and definitely crispy all over. This makes them KILLER. Squidgy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Yummalicious. This is the point at which you learn that overfilling will cause leaks onto the coals. Any hint of sogginess as Jamie says is a no no. Cut with a pizza slicer and watch them FLY off the plate. Can adapt no problem for the grill.
Essential ingredients for me:
Spring onions, small rings.
Coriander, whole leaves I love so you get that coriander hit, no tough stalks in there though. Or shred them up a bit if you like. Save some to sprinkle on top to serve so it looks sexy. 50/50 medium cheddar (mature is too much) and mozarella, grated.
Dollop of tomato salsa that is a little bit runny. Spread it around. GOOD salsa in the jars is a great cheat here - especially the hot stuff - no need to chop chillis separately then. AND avoids painful privates/eyes later after a few beers when you forget you chopped them...anyway back to the recipe.
Squeeze lime juice over to taste. Really makes a fresh zing taste come through.
Mushroom sliced thin. Not too much.
OPTIONALS:
Prawns. Don't need expensive big ones. Cheap tiddlers are great here.
Or shredded chicken.
Peppers chopped small.
Ready made guacamole as an emergency dip.
or whatever you have leftover in the fridge. Be inventive. Maybe not strawberry jam or marmite.
Wedges of lime to serve look yum. Means everyone is prepared for the inevitable tequila shots too.
JAMIE - try this variation and tell me it's not good!
ENJOY.

7. by Victoria on Fri 27 Feb 2009 @ 17:44

Sour cream isn't always easy to find. I find that I don't really need it the melted cheese is enough.

8. by Tonje on Wed 25 Feb 2009 @ 13:52

H-ie:
Normally flour tortillas are used for quesadillas. I just use store bought tortillas, I don´t find time to make them myselft (but will be buying a tortilla press next time we go to visit la familia!)

I just heat the tortilla in a pan, add cheese (and beans/chicken/ham/mushrooms/whatever I fancy) and fold the tortilla over. When you have one tortilla on top of the other it´s called a "gringa". Cook on medium heat and turn over once. When the cheese has melted I open the tortilla and pour some salsa over the melted cheese (In Mexico you may add finely chopped onion and coriander as well)

9. by Natasha on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 11:26

Make your own Tortillas!!!!

I find that making your own is the best way, I love making Nachos and it doesn't taste the same if you buy them in the shop.

It's not that bad making them yourself, and in the end it was worth it.

10. by Tim on Wed 11 Feb 2009 @ 13:12

Having made my first home-made tortillas the other day I shall be trying these for sure!

11. by Liz on Tue 10 Feb 2009 @ 20:47

This is a great fast food - I made mine with gouda cheese, finely chopped onion, finely chopped sun dried tomatoes. Served with a green salad.

My teenage daughter also like this and we all know how hard it is to please teens.

12. by H-ie on Sun 08 Feb 2009 @ 13:26

Does Jamie and do you bloggers use maize or flour tortillas - and does he/you buy them or make them? I prefer maize but it's a big deal making them - although I know we can buy them now in the UK. Comments, please. Gracias.

13. by George Smith on Thu 05 Feb 2009 @ 22:55

along with the cheese in the wrap try red onion and diced bacon works a treat!!
trust me ...

14. by Jon on Thu 22 Jan 2009 @ 00:46

Hey Jamie, I use a slightly different variation for making the guacamole. I add to what you have a little paprika, fresh chopped (fine) garlic and a tablespoon of sour cream. Mix it up and let it sit for awhile with the seed in the middle and covered with cling wrap so no air gets in.
Having lived in California for over 16 years you learn from the neighbors all sorts of ways to make guacamole.

15. by Andreea on Sun 28 Dec 2008 @ 19:50

Dear Jaime, I come from Norway but I live in Switzerland. I watched you on cuisinetv.fr and I loved your way of cooking, the oliver twis ribs and your famous quesadilla. I will make sure of doing this to my friends. Tip: Please try out if you have time, the Norwegian traditional "ribbe" recipe. This is a fantastic recipe that I am more than 200% that you will love. My father from Argentina would say the best thing about Norway...... Big hug from Andreea,

16. by stijn on Mon 22 Dec 2008 @ 10:33

Best Mexican food i've ever fixed, ever! From 0 to Mexican hero in 10 minutes...

17. by Markus on Mon 13 Oct 2008 @ 16:44

Hey Irini, you can use cream fraiche or sometimes whipped cream, it's also good for mexican food!
Markus

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