Nick Coffer’s Weekend Recipe

All the Quesadillas

Time to talk about one of the staples in my house. We are a bit quesadilla “crazy”. They are so versatile, so quick and so cheap that I just keep serving them up in different ways to my children. They are also a brilliant way of using up leftovers and, perhaps surprisingly, hold up pretty well in a packed lunch box too to be eaten cold at school. Once you have got the basics mastered, there is no looking back.

For each quesadilla, you’ll need two large flour tortillas, the filling, a hot large pan and some olive oil.

The filings will usually always need something melty, just to glue it all together - not to mention that the translation of quesadilla is apparently “Cheesy-Dude”! Simply build the quesadilla by placing one tortilla on your worktop, cover it with your choice of filling and leave a border of a couple of centimetre. Top the filling with the other tortilla and heat up your pan to a medium-high temperature. Pour in a good glug of oil. Carefully slide the quesadilla in and let the base crisp up nicely. Using a flat spatula, gently turn the quesadilla over and crisp up the other tortilla. Serve immediately, cut into segments like a pizza. There are no limits to the filling combinations you can use. Here are some of the ones I use at home: Leftover chilli con carne and cheddar Leftover bolognese sauce and parmesan Leftover Sunday roast and veg, topped with a little cheese (I love using brie with chicken) Thinly spread tomato puree and grated mozzarella Grated cheddar, sweetcorn and cherry tomatoes Sliced cooked chorizo and feta Lightly mashed butternut squash or sweet potato with feta French mustard, crispy bacon and grated Emmental cheese Camembert with red onion chutney