Quesadillas, a quintessential Mexican food.

Traditional Quesadillas

There is absolutely no doubt that Mexican food plays a large part in the food American's buy and prepare. You would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't enjoyed a taco or burrito or tortilla chips with salsa at some point in their life. And so today we are talking about a food from south of the border.  To put things into perspective, let's take a look at how our consumption of traditional Mexican fare fits into our culinary experience.

FYI:

• we consume 6,000,000,000 (that's right, billion) tacos per day in the US
• we consume 368,260,000 burritos in a month
• salsa sales are $700,000,000 annually (surpassing ketchup as a condiment)
• we consume approximately 85,000,000,000 tortillas a year
• while potato chips are the top-selling salty snack per pound sold in the U.S., tortilla chips show a robust growth that is challenging the spud in popularity.

It seems a whole lot of people are eating a whole lot of tortillas and we are going to talk about one very specific way tortillas can be enjoyed.

Quesadillas are a quintessential Mexican food.   But don't go thinking that the quesadilla you find in your local Tex-Mex restaurant is the whole story on this historical food. The history of quesadillas begins with tortillas.  Tortillas are a round, thin unleavened bread made from ground maize (corn). Maize was a basic food of Mesoamericans (Mexico and Central America) for many millenia. There is no way of knowing just how long ago corn was grown and ground into meal. It is known that when the Spanish Conquistadores arrived in the "New World," in the late 15th century, the people living there were eating flat corn breads (tortillas). The original native people known as Nahuati call these breads "tlaxcalli." The Spaniards renamed them "tortilla." It is speculated that tlaxcallis were made as early as 12,000 year ago.

The Mesoamerican people had perfected the skill of making tortillas. The thin, flatbread served as a portable pie. Its simplicity is a wonder. Make a tortilla, sprinkle some cheese on it and fold it over, fry it on a comal, and there you have it. Maybe these were the first turnovers ever made. Or maybe the first grilled cheese.  Who knows? After the Spanish named the flat bread, tortilla, they then named the turnover, quesadillas. This name literally means "little cheesy things."  What's not to like about that?!

Tortillas frying on a Comal

An authentic quesadilla is made from masa, which is made from maize blanco (white corn) that is dried and cured, then ground into a fine meal, then mixed with water to form a ball, flattened, filled and fried. This staple and tradition was passed down by the Mayans and Aztecs, who were considered advanced cultures in the Americas.

A purist would not consider two flour tortillas with cheese in between them a real quesadilla. Such a food is be called a sincronizada (Spanish for synchronized). Now, before we get too far into this, it seems that quesadillas and sincronizadas might be compared to like grinders and hoagies. They aren't really the same, but they aren't wholey different either.  While the quesadilla is made with one corn tortilla, filled, folded and fried, the sincronizadas are made with two flour tortillas, filled and fried.

Sincronizadas

On most every menu in any Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurant in the U.S., you will find Quesadillas.  And this deliciousness has been transformed by everyone who has ever made one.  As we've said over and over, the 2 Prickly Pears respect and honor tradition.  We also encourage cooks to take what they know and make what they like.  These days you can find quesadillas made with chicken, pork, beef, vegetables, spices, and, of course, cheese.  Don't forget the cheese!  Otherwise it would just by a dilla....hmmm?

Today we are making our version of quesadillas (sincronizadas).  Keep in mind, when you are making your version, you can create everything from a basic, time-honored cheese quesadilla to more elaborate stuffed kind that has vegetables, meats, herbs and cheeses. The tortilla is a canvas that you can throw all sorts of things on and enjoy it your way.

Our version of quesadilla is Chipotle BBQ Chicken with Black Beans, Avocado, Green Chilies and Cheese. Here's the recipe:

Chicken Black Bean Quesadillas

Here's what you need:

Flour or Corn Tortillas

Asiago Cheese

Cooked Chicken, chopped up

BBQ Sauce

Chipotle Sauce (Adobe)

Black Beans

Green Chilies

Avocado chunks

Oil

Here's what you need to do:

Fry the chicken until done through and mix in the BBQ sauce and chipotle sauce (just enough sauce to coat the chicken).  In a large frying pan or flat grill heat just a bit of oil and place one tortilla in your pan.  Put on a layer of cheese, then some chicken, then the green chilies, then the black beans, then the avocado, and another layer of cheese.  Top with a second tortilla. When the bottom tortilla begins to brown, flip your quesadilla over and allow the other side to brown. Make sure the cheese is melted.  Transfer to a serving plate and using a pizza cutter, cut it into 6-8 wedges.  Serve with sour cream and salsa.

We are grateful to the people of Mexico and Central America for their contribution to the U.S. culinary experience.  Whether you like your quesadillas simple or complex, we hope you enjoy making and eating them.

Now, go out and make something good!