Friday, August 24, 2012
I’ve spent a lot of time writing about corn and tomatoes, my summer favorites. Zucchini has now taken its rightful place in my seasonal repertoire with a few of my recent posts: the sweet (dark chocolate zucchini bread), the savory (e.g., grilled vegetable parmigiania, Mediterranean veggie sandwich, fajitas), and the salad (sun gold tomatoes and corn with ribbons of zucchini).
Today’s dish was inspired by several leftover tortillas sitting in the fridge after I had made a batch of enchiladas. (I told you I love Mexican food.) And of course I had zucchini, tomatoes, and corn given it’s late August. Next thing you know, I whipped up a batch of quesadillas and a chopped salad to accompany and dinner was served.
1. Roast the corn, zucchini and onions in a hot oven, turning the vegetables once or twice. (More on roasting vegetables here.)
2. Layer the veggies on a tortilla – whole grain, of course – and top with grated cheddar or jack cheese, as desired (not shown).
3. Cover with a second tortilla and heat in a hot skillet to brown both sides until crisp. (This was moved to a cookie sheet once cooked, as pictured.)
4. Cut and serve. (My husband and I split the quesadilla, as we had Mexican street corn for an appetizer. A lot of corn in one meal, I know; it just worked out that way.)
Cook’s Notes. I enjoyed this particular mix of veggies that highlighted summer flavors; use whatever vegetables make you happy. The quesadilla would be fabulous with traditional sauces such as guacamole, salsa verde, or salsa fresca (aka pico de gallo, aka basic tomato salsa). That said, I had some lovely yellow eye beans in my fridge that needed to be consumed, which I opted to include in a lively side salad this time rather than in the quesadilla itself. The chopped salad comprised tomatoes, red and green peppers, purple carrots, onion, beans, and cilantro tossed with some EVOO and white wine vinegar and seasoned with crushed garlic and a touch of salt and pepper. The beans, prepared from dried, also added a protein boost to the meal.
Just one more way to showcase again the lighter side of Mexican while celebrating the late summer harvest of zucchini, corn, and tomatoes.
Don’t forget the sangria.
This looks really good! Have you ever tried any other types of vegetable fillings in your quesadillas?
Indeed I have. Good ones to use would be those used in fajitas, discussed here.. Mushrooms would also work really well, too, and, of course, beans. Thanks for the comment, and for the follow! 🙂
I love Mexican food, too! This is a perfect way to use up those summer vegetables!!
Indeed! Make sure to check out the fajita post, too – another way to celebrate seasonal flavors with Mexican flair!
OH that looks so good. I LOVE zucchini!!
So glad this post is getting some good comments – thanks!!! It was a lovely quesadilla (I did add cheese, btw – and goat cheese would work really well, too, to take it up a notch – though I’m a goat cheese fanatic). Enjoy!
Thank you for the kind words. To offset all the sitting I do at the movie theaters, I share tidbits from your wonderful blog with my cycle and yoga classes.
Well, thank YOU! Even better: direct them to my blog! 😉 Cheers, PK