It is difficult not to love Mexican food: fresh herbs, buttery ingredients like avocado, cheese, savory-sweet and spicy meats clearing the sinuses, all freshened up with a little sour cream (or the like). What could be better? As D now takes to saying a la Jack Black in the film Nachos Libre: “Fresh ingredients! I need du fresh ingredients!” each time we consider a Mexican-inspired meal.
Quesadillas are an easy winner for most people. They are hearty enough to fill and the flavors can be as varied as your imagination: from shrimp to steak and potato or simply cheese and salsa. Beyond all that, for the world of flavor you are opened to in each bite, it is extremely easy on the pockets.
I may even admit that my range of cooking was not always so ambitious. Yes, there may have been a time, in college, when the only items found in my refrigerator were a packet of tortillas, a jar of salsa and a wedge of good cheddar cheese. They stacked nicely on top of each other and saved much space for precious beer and my roommates’ leftovers that always seemed to rot before being consumed. For variety, these items may have been stacked neatly next to a package of Ryvita crackers, a few cans of tuna and a jar of relish and mustard– the palate does need change after all– and it helps to receive an income to aid that change!
So my gourmand tune has changed but my love of the delicious and speedy meal that tops a delicate flour tortilla has remained.
D and I roasted up some chickens last week for sandwiches and soup the following week. A simple quick roast of two birds layered on a bed of potatoes, onions, mushrooms, leeks and carrots provided an excellent base for future meals. There was the simple roast chicken with a side of roasted vegetables. Then there was the chicken sandwich on multi-grain bread with sprouts, then chicken, prosciutto, roasted garlic and sprouts on a noble white, and towards the end of the run the carcass was picked clean and thrown into soup– Coconut Thai Chicken Soup to be exact. With the remaining chicken we made the above-pictured quesadilla. I am proud to say we spanned many cuisines and continents with those two birds.
Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas
Serving Size= 2 quesadillas. Active time= about 10 minutes.
* 1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
* 1 can Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I like La Morena, it comes in a bright orange can)
* 1/4 pound sharp cheddar, shredded or cut into thin strips (just use what you like)
* 1/2 avocado, sliced
* 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (or sour cream)
* juice of 1 lime
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 2 tablespoons red onion, chopped
* 1/4 cup cilantro, stems included, loosely chopped1) Place the shredded chicken on a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Chop 2 chipotle peppers into 1/4 inch pieces, add it to the skillet along with 1-2 tablespoons of adobo sauce from the can. Stir until incorporated and allow ingredients to warm.
2) While chicken is warming, prepare other ingredients: Slice avocado, chop onions, wash and chop cilantro. Check on the chicken and stir periodically. Make the Adobo-Yogurt sauce: Mix yogurt, lime juice, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce and cinnamon together. Set aside.
3) In another skillet on medium-high heat, place one tortilla and layer cheese over the top. No oil or butter is needed. As tortilla warms it will puff up and cheese will melt. Remove from heat once cheese has melted, add second tortilla to skillet and repeat warming.
4) While second tortilla is warming, chicken should be about done, remove from heat. Remove second tortilla from heat once cheese has melted and assemble the two quesadillas: Divide the Chipotle Chicken amongst the two, add sliced avocado, sprinkle each with onion and cilantro and top with a drizzle of Adobo-Yogurt sauce. Serve warm.
Did you know the chipotle pepper is actually a smoked jalepeno pepper? If this is not true I would love to be proved wrong. I was in the middle of a heated debate the other week (at a Mexican restaurant no less) where humble customer and wait-staff claimed one thing (the jalepeno verdict) while head chef claimed another. I’m not one to discount a chef, but maybe in some places it is different? Or always comes packaged as chipotle and has always been thought of differently?