Inside Outside Quesadillas

Inside Out Quesadillas

Makes one 8 to 10-inch quesadilla

 Why inside out?  Because there’s a thin layer of crunchy cheese on the outside of the quesadilla as well as the melty stuff on the inside tucked between the tortillas.  Created during a long spell of cabin fever in the first weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, these stoner munchies will astound your jaded, quesadilla hating friends.

And YES!  You read correctly.  There’s no butter or oil in the recipe.  You put the cheese directly on the surface of the sauté pan.  As long as your non-stick pan is a fairly recent purchase and there are no large, identifiable gouges in it, you should be alright.

Ingredients:

• 2 ea. 8” flour tortillas
• 1 cup or more supermarket Mexican cheese blend (if you’re fancy you can use Chihuahua brand melting cheese) + ¼ cup queso cotija, mixed together
• 2-3 tablespoons cilantro, minced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2-3 shots of Cholula brand Mexican hot sauce (chipotle flavor) + more for garnish

Special Equipment:

• Large non-stick sauté pan
• Sturdy plastic or silicone spatula

Procedure:

Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese mixture in the sauté pan about the size of the flour tortilla.  Turn the pan on medium-high heat and place one flour tortilla on top of the cheese, then another, thicker layer of cheese, the cilantro and green onions.  Place the second tortilla and last of your cheese mix on top of that.

Once the cheese on the bottom has gotten brown and crunchy, quickly flip the quesadilla over on to the other side and brown it.  Any cheese that flies off the top of the quesadilla when you flip it will land in the pan—which is what you want.   The best way to tell if the quesadilla is ready to flip is by smelling the cheese.  If it smells toasty and delicious, you should be good to go.  Another way is to insert the spatula underneath and try to remove it.  If the quesadilla comes away freely from the pan without leaving any melted cheese behind it’s ready to flip.

Once both sides are crunchy and brown, remove the quesadilla and cut into slices.

I serve these with my chunky guacamole.