Added: 05/22/2006 |
Mexican Quesadillas, Romance and You!A quesadilla (from "queso", Spanish for "cheese") is a tortilla folded over shredded cheese or a cheese slice - often a Mexican-style soft farmer's cheese such as Chihuahua cheese or other light colored melting cheese. Quesadillas might also include cooked meat and/or bean filling.
Well, roughly speaking, quesadillas have much in common with tacos- other national Latin - American food. But the difference between a taco and a quesadilla consist of shape, kinds of filling and the order of filling and cooking. Generally, a taco is rolled around the filling, while a quesadilla is flat, sandwiching its filling. These differences are not noticeable for a common person, who eats quesadillas first, but are rather noticeable for a gourmet. The latter, experienced 'eater' knows that the fillings of Quesadillas are usually based on cheese and are generally of a pasty consistency and considered appetizers. Quesadillas are usually deep fried or toasted using a broiler, griddle, or open fire, and sometimes spiced with salsa.
The term 'quesadillas' can also apply to a pair of tortillas, with the cheese and other fillings between them, similarly cooked. In Mexico, most locals use corn tortillas to cook quesadillas and the most common cheese used in such quesadillas is 'Oaxaca' cheese, a type of string cheese, which originates from the Mexican state of Oaxaca. In American restaurants, on the contrary, another version of quesadilla is made -a "Sincronizada" - usually consisting of two ingredients, typically ham and cheese. Sincronizadas are made with flour tortillas and are the closest Mexican equivalent to what is typically called quesadillas in most Mexican restaurants outside of Mexico.
But there are also vegetarian versions of quesadillas and probably the most popular is made with potato, with cheese and beans following in popularity. You can find all kinds of types of quesadillas, made with potatoes, cheese, chorizo, beans, green peppers (rajas), chiles rellenos and other things all over the world as well as in fast food and in high - class restaurants.
You can experiment with fillings of quesadillas yourself, with the basic idea to make a mixture that serves as the shell for the quesadilla, fill it in with something you like and fry it.
In a large bowl, add 4 cups of the masa (corn) mix and add some warm water, mix with your hands until it is firm adding water as necessary. With your hands, make small balls of the about two inches in diameter, each one of these will be quesadillas. Set large frying pan in mid-high heat, once hot lower heat to medium and add enough oil to cover the frying pan to 1 inch deep. Then make a round (tortilla like) shape with each of the masa mix balls, using a roller if necessary.
Put the chorizo, beans, cheese or potatoes in the tortilla and seal the sides by pressing with your fingers, frying one side until brown, then flip, repeat for all others, cooking as many as you can at the same time. Do not let the oil to get too hot; otherwise, the quesadillas will burn immediately without really being cooked in the inside. Be creative with the ingredients; make quesadillas of anything you like.
Quesadillas are sometimes cut into strips before being served as an appetizer to a meal of Mexican food. Quesadillas are cut into wedges or strips in restaurants outside of Mexico, where they are often served as an appetizer. In authentic Mexican restaurants, and in people's homes, quesadillas are generally eaten whole; and two to four of these often constitute a light meal.
Another variation found outside of Mexico is a "whole" quesadilla - made of two tortillas sandwiched with the filling between rather than one folded over.
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