Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Quesadillas Italiana

I made a great lunch for myself last week, if I may wrench my own shoulder and pat my own back. It was a quesadilla, but with a bit of tweaking; instead of following the Tex-Mex tradition, I gave mine some Italian flair. My own little version of fusion food!

We're not allowed to bring meat products to work, only dairy or vegetarian meals; so if I've served meat for dinner and have some leftovers, unfortunately I can't bring them to the office to reheat. That means, since Jeremy is quite the carnivore, that I often end up making something special just for myself that is "kosher" so that I have an acceptable lunch.

And to some extent, this is very freeing for me -- things that Jeremy won't eat, like Curried Chickpeas, are then a luxury I can indulge in. I can cook and enjoy mushrooms, as well, since Jeremy loathes them and I love them. It all works out okay in the end, despite the need sometimes for a bit of planning.

So one day last week, I found an assortment of white and Portobello mushrooms on sale at the grocery store -- $1.49 for 6 that were large enough to stuff ... yay! And although the tomatoes in my backyard are little green pellets still, the store also had containers of grape tomatoes on sale 2-for-1. I already had a red onion and some whole wheat tortillas and some shredded Parmesan cheese; I had everything I needed one morning to put together a fabulous lunch.

I started by heating a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and sauteeing 1 small red onion that had been sliced thin, then sprinkling it with some Italian seasoning.

I sliced about a cup of the grape tomatoes in half lengthwise, then added them to the pan to cook until they softened.

Then I added 2 of the mushrooms -- 1 white, 1 Portobello -- which I'd halved and then sliced; I cooked everything until the vegetables were soft and the mushrooms were golden.

In another pan, I placed 1 tortilla and topped it with Parmesan cheese.

I spread half of the tomato-mushroom mixture over the tortilla, then sprinkled that with more cheese.

I covered it with another tortilla, then cooked it for 3 minutes or so per side over medium heat, until the cheese was melted and the tortilla was nicely browned. And then, because I had so much of the filling, I did it all again to make a second quesadilla. I cut them into quarters, packed them into a box, and then reheated them for lunch and graciously accepted compliments on how good they smelled ... :)

If you have Mozzarella or Provolone, they would work just fine. A little garlic? A little pesto? Some fresh herbs? All would be fabulous additions or substitutions, depending upon your tastes and what you have on hand.

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Because this recipe uses fresh vegetables (preferably homegrown) and whole wheat tortillas, it seemed a perfect addition for "Two for Tuesdays," a link-up dedicated to real, unprocessed food. Go check it out, and find some more fabulous recipes!

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19 comments:

Rachel (Diary of a Recovering Chocoholic) said...

These do sound amazing! I'll have tp try them once I'm back. They'd make a good weekend lunch.

Marissa said...

what a yummy idea! Sounds delish :)

Donda said...

That looks really good!

Holly Lefevre said...

I am all about anything that you can do with a tortilla! This looks delicious. We just recently started making all of our own tortillas - so good (and actually easy!). I am checking out this recipe link!

Kitvy said...

Looks great. Sounds delish :)

April@The 21st Century Housewife said...

Your tortillas look really delicious - great idea!

Unknown said...

What a great idea. I should be ashamed of myself.. I'm part Italian and I never thought to do something like this! (i'm not worthy, i'm not worthy!!!) This would be great to make on a night when Chris doesn't eat with me... he does not like mushrooms...I, on the other hand, love them!!

Cranberry Morning said...

Looks wonderful to me!! :-)

I laughed at your pellet-sized green tomatoes. Every day I go to the garden to check and see if my tomatoes are going to ripen before blight takes over! Hopefully...hopefully...

Nicole said...

OMG. I am literally salivating.

Heather S-G said...

Well Mary, you've managed to combine my two faves...Mexican & Italian...I would gobble this up in no time flat! Seriously, it sounds delish!! Where in the world do you work that you can't bring meat products? When I was at the Catholic University we couldn't bring meat products on Fridays during lent. Thanks for sharing this with Two for Tuesdays!! =)

Yenta Mary said...

I work in the Jewish community and the facility keeps Kosher. For official functions, we serve either meat or dairy meals that are certified Kosher and prepared by our kitchen staff or by a caterer. But for personal use, there's an exception for staff that we can bring in anything dairy/vegetarian -- whether officially Kosher or not -- so as not to have any risk of mixing meat and dairy (which is an absolute taboo). At Passover, we can bring in no food whatsoever for personal use so as not to have any risk of bringing in forbidden leavened items. In fact, I have to clean out my desk every Passover to remove cough drops or cookies or plasticware or anything else I've been storing; my boyfriend thought it was silly to get paid to clean, but it's a matter of Jewish law. But the dairy policy lets me eat mushrooms at lunch when neither Jeremy nor Tom will eat them for dinner ... yay!!! So it all works out in the end ... :)

Carol, The Answer Is Chocolate said...

My son's two favorites...quesadillas and Italian! So trying this!

Arnold said...

This looks stunning. This is not something I have made before but you have made it look very appealing.

a moderate life said...

Hi Mary and welcome to the two for tuesday recipe blog hop! So glad you linked up with us this week. Quesadillas are awesome, but especially with bold flavors like these! Very cool! I am now following your blog! :) alex@amoderatelife

Robin said...

Thanks for the comment. I do love quesdillas. I just am not big on cooking right now. However, I don't want you to think I don't eat because I do. I just don't eat a lot. Now that my parents are back I will likely eat better. But still not a lot. So... you can at least not worry that I will starve...lol. I actually did go to the grocerty store while they were gone. Shocking, I know.

Hunger and Thirst said...

What a lovely dish, thank you for sharing with Two for Tuesday.

Christy said...

I admit I am curious as to why your workplace puts dietary limits on your lunches -
this recipe sounds yummy - a great lunch!
thanks for linking to two for tuesdays!

Keri said...

Like everything else you put together, this looks fabulous. Love the method and presentation, it makes me hungry.

Thanks for coming by and sharing a sliver of your past with me. I'm honored and releaved to know that someone can relate. I was on the fence about posting that, you made me feel like it was okay after all. Have a fabulous day. Keri

Couscous & Consciousness said...

I love quesadillas and am always looking for inspiration for different fillings - this was a great choice. Thanks for sharing.
Sue


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