Southwest Steak Quesadilla

Quesadillas are already delicious with just cheese inside, but if you take a couple of extra steps and fill it with your favourite flavours, you can take it to a whole different level. We have been cooking a fair amount of Tex-Mex flavours and there is no reason why those shouldn`t go on a quesadilla.

Pre-heat the oven to 350F and leave cream cheese to soften at room temperature for 30 minutes before starting.

Start by searing and cooking your steak to your desired doneness, we had some leftovers cooked to rare and that was perfect, as it finished cooking to medium in the quesadilla. Use a skillet or metal pan with a drizzle of oil and make sure to make it extremely hot before adding the steak, so you can get a proper sear and the outsides are crispy.

Chop ¼ sweet pepper (red, green, yellow, your choice), ¼ onion, ½ tomato, ½ a jalapeno and the steak into small pieces. Chop 2 teaspoons of your choice of parsley or cilantro. Mix all chopped vegetables and reserve in a bowl.

Place 2 large flour tortillas on a large tray with parchment paper and lightly brush chipotle butter (regular butter is fine) on one of the sides. Place the buttered side onto the tray with the clean side up.

In a microwave-safe medium bowl, mix 1 ½ tablespoon of room-temperature cream cheese, 1 cup of shredded cheddar and ½ teaspoon of chipotle butter. Microwave for 20-40 seconds and mix it again, it should have a queso consistency.

Spread the queso mixture onto half of each tortilla like a half moon, making sure not to go all the way to the edge of the tortilla. Spread the cut vegetables evenly on top of the queso. Then evenly distribute the pieces of steak on top as well.

Top the steak with the remaining ¼ cup of shredded cheese and fold the empty part of the tortilla onto the filling. Give it a light press.

Place the tray in the pre-heated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Flip the quesadillas so the top part is now at the bottom and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove it from the oven, cut them in 2 or 4 pieces and garnish with sour cream, your favourite hot sauce and scallions.

Southwest Steak Quesadilla

Servings: 2

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

150g Steak, small dice (cooked to your preferred temperature)

¼ Sweet Pepper, small dice

½ Jalapeno, small dice

1 Tbsp Cooked Corn Kernels (optional)

1 ¼ Cup Shredded Cheddar or Jack Cheese

1 ½ Tbsp Cream Cheese, room temperature

½ Tomato, small dice

¼ Onion, small dice

1 tsp Chipotle Butter (or regular butter)

2 Green Onions

2 tsp Chopped Parsley or Cilantro

2 Large Flour Tortillas

Sour Cream, for serving

Hot Sauce, for serving

Step-by-Step

1.       Pre-heat the oven to 350F. In a large tray with parchment paper, lay the tortillas and brush one side with a light layer of chipotle butter. Turn them so the buttered side is on the tray.

2.       Mix cream cheese and 1 cup of shredded cheese in a bowl with a ½ tsp of chipotle butter. Put it in the microwave for 20 seconds and mix, it will look like a queso mixture. Spread half the mixture onto half of each tortilla.

3.       Top the cheese with peppers, jalapeno, onion, parsley, corn and cooked steak, spreading them evenly onto both tortillas. Top it with the rest of the shredded cheese and fold the tortilla in half to close it.

4.       Bake it at 350F for 10 minutes, flip it and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve with your favourite hot sauce and sour cream.