My favorite way to make quesadillas is to bake them, because you can make a bunch at once. I find that just a quick spray of canola oil on the cookie sheets is sufficient. This recipe uses mozzarella, which may not seem like the most obvious choice for quesadillas, but give it a try and you’ll be hooked. If you can’t get fresh chorizo where you shop, you should really shop somewhere else; but if you’re just too stubborn for that, Italian sausage would work in a pinch. Mexican chorizo is spicy, but I prefer the Salvadoran version, available in some areas, which is tangy, but not overly picante.
Chorizo Quesadillas
serves 4
1/3 pound fresh chorizo, removed from casing
1/4 cup minced yellow onion
1/2 pound mozzarella, grated
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon dried sage
8 10-inch flour tortillas
Sauté chorizo & onion in medium skillet over medium-low heat, breaking up chorizo, until onion is soft and chorizo is fully cooked. Remove to plate and allow to cool.
Preheat oven to 400º. In medium bowl, combine mozzarella, cilantro, sage, & cooled chorizo mixture. Soften tortillas 2 at a time by heating in microwave for 30 seconds. Place one tortilla on lightly oiled cookie sheet, top with 1/4 of cheese mixture, then spread mixture evenly to within a half-inch of edge of tortilla. Top with another tortilla and press together to seal.
Repeat with remaining tortillas and cheese mixture, then bake in 400º oven for 6 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Cut into wedges, and serve.
