Quesadilla

Ingredients

Tortillas

• 4corn tortillas, or 300 g masa harina and 250 ml warm water to make your own

Cheese

• 300 gOaxaca cheese, quesillo, pulled into threads
• or Chihuahua, asadero or mozzarella

Fillings, choose

• flor de calabaza, squash blossoms
• huitlacoche, corn fungus
• sautéed mushrooms with epazote
• tinga de pollo
• chicharrón prensado

To serve

• salsa verde
• salsa roja
• lime wedges
• chopped onion and coriander

Equipment

• a comal, or a heavy dry pan

Directions

1. Use corn tortillas rather than wheat, which is the Mexican standard. If making your own, mix masa harina with warm water into a soft dough that does not crack at the edges when pressed.
2. Press balls of dough between plastic sheets into thin rounds.
3. Heat a comal or heavy pan over a medium heat, dry, with no oil. The tortilla is toasted dry rather than fried, and oil in the pan gives a greasy quesadilla.
4. Warm a tortilla on the comal for 20 seconds a side until it is pliable. Lay the cheese and filling on one half. Do not overfill it. Fold it over and press it down gently with a spatula.
5. Cook 2 to 3 minutes a side over a medium heat. It is ready when the tortilla is toasted with brown spots and the cheese is completely molten inside.
6. Press it gently as it cooks so the two halves stick together. Fried ones are made with uncooked masa, sealed at the edge, and dropped straight into hot oil.
7. Serve immediately, with salsa spooned in or on the side. Eat it straight away, because a quesadilla left standing goes leathery and the cheese sets.

Technique

• Sincronizada is the wheat-tortilla version with ham and cheese between two tortillas.
• Fresh masa from a tortillería makes a noticeably better quesadilla than masa harina.
• The fried version is far more common at Mexico City street stalls than the griddled one.

Substitutions

• Mozzarella or a low-moisture melting cheese in place of Oaxaca.
• Shop-bought corn tortillas, warmed first.

Variations

• Fried, with raw masa, which is the street version.
• With squash blossoms, huitlacoche or mushrooms.
• Sincronizada, on wheat tortillas with ham.

History

A folded comal-cooked tortilla; in Mexico City it is famously ordered without cheese unless asked for, a quirk debated across the country.

Frequently asked questions

What is Quesadilla?

Quesadilla is a snack from Mexico: folded tortilla griddled with melting cheese and fillings. A folded comal-cooked tortilla; in Mexico City it is famously ordered without cheese unless asked for, a quirk debated across the country.

How long does Quesadilla take to make?

Quesadilla takes 15 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 quesadillas. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Quesadilla?

Yes, within limits. Mozzarella or a low-moisture melting cheese in place of Oaxaca. Shop-bought corn tortillas, warmed first.

What is the most important thing to get right in Quesadilla?

Use corn tortillas rather than wheat, which is the Mexican standard. If making your own, mix masa harina with warm water into a soft dough that does not crack at the edges when pressed.