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.

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!