Of late, grilling has become one of my favorite cooking methods. Unfortunately, as the sun is quickly setting on this warm St. Louis weather, so too are my grilling days. So before I have to shut the propane off for good, I decided it was time to grill some quesadillas. These are so fast, so easy to make – and just so good. They’re bound to be a hit.
Quesadilla literally means “little cheesy thing,” in Spanish. So some form of cheese is required. But after that, the beauty of quesadillas is in their elegant simplicity. They’re a blank slate on which to experiment. Throw whatever you want at them — and just see what sticks.
Speaking of sticking, I’ve discovered that the soft, sticky quality of goat cheese acts as a perfect seal for the tortilla. So here’s my approach for
Grilled Quesadillas
WHAT TO GRAB:
2 or 3 flour or corn tortillas (again, see what works for you).
Sliced cheddar cheese (preferably from a block)
Goat cheese
Black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon fresh italian-leaf parsley, chopped
Sliced tomatoes
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
slices of cooked chicken (optional)
HOW YOU DO IT:
1. Working from the bottom half of the tortilla, simply spread a thin layer of the goat cheese around the edge of the tortilla, running your finger from 3:00 to 9:00. Throw all your ingredients to one half of the tortilla – but try and thin them out to prevent bulging, which could pierce the tortilla. Close the tortilla, pressing the sides together, as you would a Ziploc bag. Here is where the goat cheese does its magic.
2. Fire up the grill. As you wait, brush the side of the tortilla going grill-side down with the softened butter. As it’s grilling, brush the other side. For those presentation points, angle the tortillas at 45 degree angles to the grills. After about a minute, rotate them 90 degrees, to create a beautiful grill pattern.
3. Slice ‘em up in thirds and serve!
WORD TO THE WISE:
Depending on the heat of the grill, these burn very quickly! When I make them, it’s a minute, rotate 45 degrees, another minute, and then flip over for another minute to ninety seconds! You have to watch them!
