Quesadillas are one of my favorite weeknight dinners. They're perfect for our carnie/veggie household - throw a little meat in his, add some black beans and extra veggies to mine, dinner's on the table in 20 minutes, and everyone's happy.
In this case, I went with the perfect sweet plus a little salty, tart plus creamy duo of Bosc pear slices and brie cheese. Sprinkled with some fresh jalapeno for a bit of bite, these quesadillas are a winner. Especially when paired with a perfect fresh salsa or even a tomato salad. Honestly, I'm not really sure what my side-dish concoction was so I'm not ready to post that recipe yet, but basically I took a bunch of heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced them in half, added some onion, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and jalapeno. Pico di gallo? Tomato salad? Salsa? Pico de salad salsa? I have no idea. It's pretty tasty, so I'll share when I know.
But back to my point. If you've never tried pears and brie together, please do it soon, even if it's not in a tortilla. They're seriously a match made in heaven.
Pear and Brie Quesadillas
This recipe is not an exact science. But don't worry, please. It's just a quesadilla for goshsake, I'm sure it's un-screw-uppable!
Makes 1 each
Ingredients:
- 1 medium-sized soft tortilla (my favorite grocery store, Central Market, whips up these amazing whole wheat tortillas right there in the store that are the perfect size. Trader Joe's also has a great selection of tortillas, including whole wheat.)
- 1/4 of a Bosc pear, cut into 5 - 6 slices (or try another type of pear, I'm sure it'll be equally delish)
- Some slices of brie cheese
- Fresh seeded jalapeno, finely diced (optional)
Directions:
- Lay the brie cheese and pear slices on one half of the tortilla.
- Sprinkle with the jalapeno peppers, if using.
- Fold the tortilla in half.
So - here's another inexact moment. I cook our quesadillas in our Cuisinart Griddler sandwich maker. Panini presses are so great for cooking up a crisp, perfect quesadilla in just a couple of minutes - plus, I find there's no need for any oil when you use one of these things, keeping the quesa relatively healthy.
If you have a panini press:
- Place in sandwich press.
- Cook according to manufacturer instructions.
- Remove and cut into wedges with a pizza cutter.
- Garnish with salsa/tomato salad/whatever you want, sliced avocados, sour cream, whatever you want. And enjoy!
Otherwise:
It's easy to cook quesadillas in a frying pan:
- In a frying pan on medium, heat 1 - 2 teaspoons of veggie oil.
- Lay the quesadilla in the pan and let cook for a minute or two until the cheese starts melting and the tortilla begins to brown on the bottom.
- Flip it over and cook it on the other side.
- Cook until cheese is nice and melty and each side of the tortilla is browned.
- If you read my panini press instructions, you'll see I'm repeating myself: Garnish with salsa/tomato salad/whatever you want, sliced avocados, sour cream, whatever you want. And enjoy!
