Quesadillas with pulled pork carnitas

Hola, Como estas?

Over here very well, glad that spring has arrived where I live, yet a week ago we were with snowstorm, but apparently wewere coming out of the tunnel. Today we expect 22 degrees! Now we are more in the 25 and up degrees, I am really happy I can eat outdoor, just like I will do in Mexico… If I was there.

What are the quesadillas?Who does not like quesadillas?A snack that can not be missin any mexican house are the famous and delicious Quesadillas.

 Las quesadillas is a flour   tortilla or a corn tortilla filled with a corn mixture containing cheese, other ingredients, and/or vegetables, (often) then folded in half to form a half-moon shape, the name is derived from tortilla and the Spanish word for cheese – Queso.

In central and southern regions of Mexico, a quesadilla is a cooked tortilla,warmed to soften it enough to be folded in half, and then filled. They are typically filledwith Oaxaca cheese (queso Oaxaca). Oaxaca cheese is a stringy (pasta filata) cheese that comes from Mexico. The quesadilla is then cooked on a comal until the cheese has completely melted. They are usually cooked without the addition of any oil. Often the quesadillas are served with green or red salsa, chopped onion, guacamole, and sour cream.While Oaxaca (or string) cheese is the most common filling, other ingredients are also used in addition to or even substituting cheese. These can include cooked vegetables, such as potatoes with chorizo, squash blossoms, mushrooms, epazote, huitlacoche, and different types of cooked meat, such as chicharron,tinga made of chicken or beef, or cooked pork.

In some places, quesadillas are also topped with other ingredients, in addition to the fillings they already have: avocado or guacamole, chopped onion, tomato, Serrano chiles and cilantro are the most common. Salsas may also be added as a topping¹ Quesadillas are traditionally cooked on a comal, which is also used to prepare tortillas. As a variation, the quesadillas can be fried in oil to make quesadillas “fritas”; Other variations include the use of wheat flour tortillas instead, especially in northeastern Mexico. (WhereI come from!! But I still loving much more the corn masa ones) Wheat dough is most commonly used in place of corn masa. In this case, the flour tortilla is prepared, folded and filled with cheese, exactly as the corn.²

¹Montanari, Massimo. The Culture of Food. Oxford, UK: 1994.
²Elkady, Doaa. “Quesadillas.” Scholastic Choices. 23.5 (2008): 23.

Quesadillas with pulled pork carnitas.

                                                                                                  It is simple, easy and quick… 

Preparation time: 10 min. Serves: 2  Cooking time: (all together, adding the chopping and cooking and melting the cheese) 20 min.

 Filling Ingredientes.

1 cup of Cheese of your preference (I used Cotija and Oaxaca cheese)
1 cup Pull pork (You can use Rotisserie chicken, mushrooms, beef strips, etc)
1/4 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 Jalapeño chopped
1 clove of Garlic

Quesadilla Ingredients.
4 Tortillas (flour or corn) I used corn.
2 tablespoons of Salsa for serving.
*2 tablespoons of cilantro.
*2 Table spoons of Fresh cream.
*It is Optional, Up to you.

Preparation:

1. I always start preparing the filling first, but in the mid time I start heating my comal or another fry pan, since the comal needs to be hot enough, to get a crispy tortilla but soft in the inside with the cheese. YUM YUM

2. On medium heat fry pan, place the pulled pork (already cooked) and fry it it for 3-5 min until slightly brown, then add the onion until almost get cook (transparent)  after add the garlic (dont let it burn, otherwise can get a rusty-acid flavour) and then tomato and jalapeño (keep the seed if you would like it hot, if not remove them) Cook everything together for about 10 min, season with salt and pepper. Sometimes I like to add a pinch of cumin to enhance some pulled pork flavours.

3. Depends of what kind of cheese you are using, but you can cut it on slides, or shredded, and once that you have your filling and cheese ready, start heating up your tortillas (just slightly, you don’t want them to get burn)

4. When you have all the tortillas warmed up that you will use, place the cheese in the tortilla, then the filling, and close it with another tortilla on top OR you can fold them like a half moon

5. Place them in your comal or fry pan, until the tortilla get more brown spots and crispy and of course the cheese get completely melted =)

6.  Cut them in half or just simply add your salsa, fresh cream and salsa on top and Voila!

Easy Easy and YUMMY!

Buen provecho.