I ate my first quesadilla in Taco Bell. Yeap. Don’t judge.
Mr. V and I went to the drive-thru and he ordered one for himself. When he unwrapped the quesadilla, I looked at it with disdain. It was ghostly pale white, looked unappetizing and was full of what seemed like enough grease to stuff my arteries. “You like this stuff?” He nodded his head excitedly. I took a bite.
To my surprise, it was actually pretty good. I finished his quesadilla. He had none. In my defense guys, I was in my early twenties. That explained my labeling all fast food as pretty good problem. Even though I decided then that I love quesadilla, ironically, I didn’t eat any until 3 years later and then never ate another for the next 3 years. It’s like a three year thing. And no, they weren’t from Taco Bells’.
Then for a potluck party, out of nowhere, I decided that I’ll whip out some mean quesadilla. At that time, I was in Taiwan. No one is Taiwan, definitely not in Chia Yi would have had the chance to indulge in some good old quesadilla. So I thought I’ll do them a favor.
I made a test run with some Cajun chicken (this dry rub is ridiculously good) and cheese on flour tortillas. It tasted great but it was a little on the dry side. It needed a sauce. Something creamy, and maybe with a bit of heat. It also has to be super light against the astronomical amount of cheese I’d put in the quesadilla. Yogurt. Perfect. It even has a slight tang but with the spices, everything is balanced up brilliantly.
Quick Recipe Makes 1/2 cup quesadilla sauce
what you need:
½ cup plain yogurt
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp lemon juice
¼ – ½ tsp cayenne
¼ tsp chili powder
Salt to taste (decrease or omit if cheese is salty already)
A pinch of sugar (To balance the tartness from yogurt)
directions:
- Mix the sauce together until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning if you like.
- Chill the sauce for 1-2 hours to let the flavors combine.
- Spread 1-2 tbs of the quesadilla sauce on one side of a flour tortilla, top it with meat and cheese of choice (I use cheddar and jack) and fold the tortilla in half.
- Lightly coat a pan with oil and heat the quesadilla in the pan over medium heat until cheese is melted and tortilla is brown and crispy. Flip and brown the other side (about a minute to a minute and a half each side).
Notes:
1. For bigger batches, place the tortillas on a lightly greased baking sheet. Lightly brush some oil on the tortilla facing up. Broil them for 1-2 minutes per side or until cheese has melted and tortillas are browned to your liking.
2. Not loving quesadilla that much? Try the sauce on sandwiches or burgers. It’s awesome!
What sauce do you put in your quesadilla?
