Sunday, March 6, 2016

Guacamole and Quesadilla

Guacamole is an Avocado-based dipping sauce.  Quesadilla is an appetizer, commonly served in any Mexican eatery.  Both are very easy to make, quite adaptable to individual preferences and tastes.  

I. Guacamole 
  1. Peel and remove the large core from 1 large (or 2 medium) ripe avocado.  Spoon the avocado meat out into a small mixing bowl. Dice and smash into paste form.
  2. Add 1/4 onion (diced), 1/2 cup of tomato (diced, canned or fresh), 1-2 Tbsp of lemon juice, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1-2 Jalapeno (diced), [optional], 2-4 Tbsp of Scallions or Cilantro (minced, [optional]), into the mixing bowl.  
  3. Mix evenly and serve with pita chips or on top of quesadilla (see picture below).
II. Quesadilla
  1. Get a pack of uncooked medium-sized tortilla (fresh, not frozen).  Note- I got a large pack from Costco (from the Salsa and Cheese section).
  2. Drizzle a small amount of veggie oil onto a non-stick pan.  Note- Enough oil to coat the pan with oil (1-2 tsp).
  3. Turn on medium heat, and place 1 tortilla into the pan.  Add the following on top of the tortilla: (1) 2-4 Tbsp of of fully cooked and diced chicken or 1-2 slices of ham, (2) 2-4 Tbsp of bell pepper (diced), (3) 2-4 Tbsp of tomato (diced, canned or fresh), (4) 2-4 Tbsp of Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (grated, available from any market), (5) 1-2 Tbsp of scallions or cilantro (mined).  Leave 1/2" along the circumference of the tortilla open (without any fillings). 
  4. Add one more tortilla on top of all the filling ingredients.  Cook and press the tortilla down with a non-scratch spatula, until the fillings are soft (3-4 minutes). 
  5. When the surface of the bottom tortilla is golden with brown spots (flip up with a spatula and take a peek), flip the Quesadilla (flipping with the spatula in one hand supporting the bottom and 2-3 fingers from the other hand pressing on the top).  Drizzle another 2-3 tsp of veggie oil along the circumference of the pan, and cook until the bottom tortilla is golden (another 3-4 minutes).
  6. Take the quesadilla onto a cutting board, cut into 4-6 pieces.  Garnish each piece with guacamole (and some hot sauce, for spicy taste), or sour cream, or diced tomato (and scallions or cilantro), and serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product (Upper: a quesadilla cut into 4 pieces, Bottom- a piece of quesadilla garnished with guacamole).