Zucchini Quesadilla - Charred Corn Pico de Gallo

It's easy, it's delicious

The other night, I wanted pizza or grilled cheese or a quesadilla. I really just wanted melty cheese. The choice was made for me by the ingredients I had lying around, and in just ten minutes, my craving was satisfied. Oaxaca cheese, Swiss, mozzarella, and Monterey Jack are all great choices. You’ll want to have one cheese that you know melts in a really oozy manner, and another for flavor. I had mozzarella, and some leftover cotija cheese from another recipe, the combo together was lovely!

equipment

medium mixing bowl

box grater

carbon steel pan

for 4 large quesadillas

ingredients

1 tablespoon of neutral fry oil

1 tablespoon of butter

burrito sized flour tortillas

8oz ball of mozzarella

6-8 oz of cotija cheese or other salty cheese

1 eight(ish) inch zucchini, sliced into thin rounds

the kernels of 3 ears of corn

3 shishito peppers, sliced or 1 jalapeño

1-2 super juicy tomatoes

3 baby Tropea onions, or 1 medium vadallia onion, medium dice

1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro

the juice of 1 lime

plenty of kosher salt and fresh black pepper

steps

Chop the tomato, onion and cilantro and add them to the medium mixing bowl.

Lay out 4 tortillas so you can fill them.

Grate the cheeses on the largest side of the box grater, then disperse them on one half of each of the tortillas.

In your large pan over high heat, add the oil and the sliced zucchini. A good pinch of salt and cracked pepper are all that’s needed for the first few minutes, let them char, flip them after 4-5 minutes and then keep them moving after that. There are two objectives here; the first is to reduce the moisture as much as possible, because these are going into the quesadilla filling, the second is to get some char, because it tastes good. Remove them from the heat and lay them in a flat layer on top of the cheese of each tortilla. Fold each tortilla in half and set them aside.

In the same pan add the corn kernels and if using shishitos, those as well. Add salt and pepper, turn the heat to high. Allow them to blister, and after about 4 minutes they should start occationally jumping in the pan and show some signs of char. Add the butter and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and add to the mixing bowl with the tomatoes and onions. Add a good pinch of salt, the juice of 1 lime and taste. If you like heat; jalapeños, shishitos or some cayenne will do. Mix well and taste - if it’s bland add more salt, if it’s flat add more lime, or heat. Set aside.

In the same pan, cook two quesadillas at the same time. The fold should be center and the rounded half moons facing away from each other (in the shape of the pan). Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes per side, flip remove, cut into fours and repeat with the remaining quesadillas.

Serve immediately with the charred corn pico de Gallo.