Green chile and corn quesadillas
Sweet corn, green chiles, black beans and melty jack cheese in crisp corn tortillas, a gluten-free vegetarian quesadilla that packs flat and reheats in a minute.
- 30 min total
- 18 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.87 a serving
- 640 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: It’s ready in 30 minutes, start to finish.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 can canned corn, drained
- 1 can diced green chiles
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 16 corn tortillas
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- ½ cup salsa (optional)
From your pantry
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 640 calories, 29 g protein, 80 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $1.87 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No salsa? Pico de gallo works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the corn dry with a paper towel, then it in a bowl with the green chiles, beans, cumin, salt and cilantro.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave them for about 1 minute, so they bend without cracking.
Dolly’s tip: Cold corn tortillas crack. Warm ones are soft and forgiving.Lay out 8 tortillas, sprinkle each with a little cheese, spoon the corn mixture over, add more cheese, and top with another tortilla.
Dolly’s tip: Cheese on both sides of the filling is the glue that holds a corn tortilla quesadilla together.Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large over medium heat and cook 2 or 3 quesadillas at a time for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until and .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Press down gently with a spatula after you flip.Cook the rest the same way, adding a little more oil each time.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Cool them on a board for 15 minutes, cut each in half, and pack them in containers with the salsa in a small cup.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: They keep 4 days in the fridge or 2 months frozen.At lunch, microwave them for 45 to 60 seconds, until hot all the way through.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop plans your lunches along with the week’s dinners, puts what you need on the same grocery list, and walks you through each step.
