Shrimp Quesadilla Recipe

Quesadillas have to be my favorite go-to food for lunch. They're just so easy to make! Especially when you have tortillas and cheese in the fridge, which we almost always do. Recently I had lunch with an old friend at Buck's of Woodside, a rather famous hang-out for Silicon Valley venture capitalists, and had a spectacular marinated shrimp and Jack cheese quesadilla, smothered in avocado and creme fresca, served on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce. I've created my own version here, inspired by that wonderful lunch at Buck's. I could eat these all day.

Shrimp Quesadilla Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound of medium-small shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 Tbsp of lime or lemon juice
• 1/4 jalapeno or serrano chile, finely minced and/or dash of chile powder
• 1 Tbsp chopped green onion
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
• Salt and pepper
• 2 medium-sized flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 avocado, sliced
• Dollop of sour cream or crema fresca

Method

1 If you are starting with frozen raw shrimp, defrost them by placing them in a bowl of ice water until defrosted. Then poach the raw shrimp for 1 to 2 minutes in boiling water, remove from pan with a slotted spoon, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. If you are starting with frozen cooked shrimp, you can defrost them in a bowl of ice water or lemon juice with ice.

2 Place strained cooked shrimp in a bowl. Add lime or lemon juice, some chopped fresh jalapeno or serrano chile and/or a dash of chile powder (can also use chipotle chiles or chipotle chili powder) to desired level of heat, green onion, and cilantro. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let marinate for 10 to 30 minutes. Strain out the juice.

3 Heat a cast iron or stick-free skillet on medium high. Add a small amount of oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) and spread it around the bottom of the pan with a spatula (you could use butter as well). Place one flour tortilla on the skillet. Flip the tortilla over a few times, 10 seconds between flips. Air pockets should begin to form within the tortilla. Remove the tortilla and repeat with the second tortilla. Leave the second tortilla in the pan and reduce the heat to medium.


4 Sprinkle the tortilla with the grated cheese. Distribute the shrimp mixture on top of the cheese. Place the other tortilla on top. Using two spatulas (one to hold the top in place) flip the quesadilla over when the bottom tortilla is nicely toasted and the cheese has begun to melt. Remove the quesadilla from the pan when the now bottom tortilla has toasted sufficiently.
You can also use just one tortilla instead of two, and fold the tortilla over itself like an omelette.

5 Cut like a pie into six pieces. A pizza wheel works well for this. Place on a serving plate. Serve with avocado slices and sour cream. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Serves one.

Quesadilla Recipe

I grew up making quesadillas, the benefit of having a Hispanic mother who is a great cook. "Queso" is cheese in Spanish. And a quesadilla is a toasted tortilla with melted cheese inside. But in addition to cheese, you can put practically anything in a quesadilla. My favorites are mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, and onions. I don't cook these ingredients first, but it really is a matter of taste. You could if you wanted to.

Quesadilla Recipe

Ingredients

• Large flour tortillas
• Grated cheese - either mild or sharp cheddar, or Monterey Jack
• Olive oil or grapeseed oil

Optional:

• Sliced mushrooms
• Green onions
• Black olives, sliced
• Fresh tomatoes, diced
• Chicken pieces
• Avocado

• Lettuce
• Apple cider vinegar
• Salt

Method

1 Heat a large cast iron frying pan to medium high heat. Add a small amount of oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) and spread it around the bottom of the pan with a spatula (you could use butter as well). Take one large flour tortilla and place it in the pan. Flip the tortilla over a few times, 10 seconds between flips. Air pockets should begin to form within the tortilla.

2 When pockets of air begin to form, take a handful of grated cheese, sprinkle over the top of the tortilla, making sure that the cheese does not land on the pan itself. Add whatever additional ingredients you choose - green onion, sliced mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, etc. If you would like your quesadilla to be a chicken quesadilla, add some diced cooked chicken. Take care not to layer on the ingredients to thickly - this is a quesadilla, not a quiche.

3 Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. The cast iron pan should be hot enough by now to have plenty of residual heat to melt the cheese and brown the tortilla. If the quesadilla begins to smoke too much, remove from the heat. After a minute, check to see if the cheese is melted. If not, return the cover and keep checking every minute until the cheese is melted. When the cheese is sufficiently melted, use a spatula to lift up one side of the quesadilla and flip over the other side, as if you were making an omelette. The tortilla should by now be browned slightly. If it is not browned, turn the heat up to high and flip the quesadilla over every 10 seconds or so until it gets browned. Remove from pan and cut into wedges.
To make the lettuce to accompany the quesadilla, thinly slice some iceberg lettuce. Sprinkle some cider vinegar on it and some salt.
Serve with the lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.