This is one of my favourite lazy lunches at Picado. When I'm busy in the shop and I don't want to distract myself from whatever I'm doing, this is my go to dish. It takes not time to make and I always have the two main ingredients in the fridge: tortillas and cheese.
Now, if I were to plan to make quesadillas, I would get proper cheese and make them a bit more complicated and complex. I would use corn tortillas instead of these mini wheat ones, I would add huitlacoche or some other sofisticated and delicious ingredient to the filling and I would NEVER use ready grated cheese, but for some reason or other, I never feel like planning to eat quesadillas! For me, they're a spur of the moment type of thing, a quick, uncomplicated breakfast or lunch, that it's both satisfying and warming. My mother makes complicated and delicious fillings, she makes a meal out of them... while I just want them now: simple and quick.
So once you have recovered from the shock of seeing supermarket, ready grated cheese in my fridge, the rest is quite simple and I must say, if you make this recipe with proper cheese, some really good quality cheddar or a great sheep's cheese, the results are far better, but again, this is something I keep in the fridge for exactly the type of days when all I want is a 10 minute lunch from start to finish. My choice is a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella cheeses as it recreates the flavour of the Mexican cheese I would most use for this. If you're stuck though and you only have cheddar, by all means, use it!
About 4 months ago, I started stocking Crushed Sweet Chipotles in the shop, they're not a traditional product in any shape or form, but they are delicious and although a product of modern times, I absolutely adore them and I keep a bottle in the fridge at all times. They're smokey, tasty, spicy and good with anything, I swear!
So here you have it, a very quick and lazy way to make quesadillas for those days when you don't have time for anything else. They're tasty and well worth the foodie stigma of having supermarket ready grated cheese in the fridge! - lol -
Put a non-stick pan on the hob and turn on the heat to medium. Let it heat dry. Do not use oil or any type of fat at all. Once the pan is hot, place a tortilla on it and heat it take the chill out of it. The tortilla must feel warm, but not overly hot.
Take the warm tortilla out of the pan into a plate and squeeze some of the crushed sweet chipotles into one side of it. This must be done to taste. We like our heat, so I use about a half a teaspoon of the chipotles, you might want to do a little less first. With the back of a teaspoon, spread the paste on one half of the tortilla.
top the chipotle smeared side of the tortilla with about 15 grams of the grated cheese and bring the tortilla back to the hot pan. Fold it in half and let it gently toast in the side for about 1 minute and then turn it to toast the other side. This will help get an even melting of the cheese and toast both sides of the tortilla.
Repeat the steps until you have used all the tortillas and cheese. You can make a few at a time or have two pans going.
Sadly, these quesadillas don't keep or reheat well, so eat them while warm and deliciously crispy. They're a joy to have with a nice cup of tea or coffee and they'll warm your heart on a winter day. Go on, be lazy and give them a go!
