Mushroom & Poblano Quesadillas

• servings: 16
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 large plum tomatoes, de-seeded, chopped

2 habanero OR jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded and chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

2–3 Tbsp fresh orange juice

2¼ tsp salt, divided

4 Tbsp olive oil, divided

8 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 large poblano chile, stemmed and cut into strips

1 medium brown onion, roughly chopped

16 (6-in.) corn or flour tortillas OR 5–6 large tortillas

8–12 oz melting cheese (Chihuahua, mild cheddar, jack, Asiago, etc.), shredded (2–3 cups)

Directions

FRESH JALAPEÑO SALSA

Gently stir together tomatoes, habanero chiles, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, orange juice and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a medium bowl. Season with additional salt and lime juice to taste, if desired. Let salsa stand at room temperature, uncovered, until flavors meld, about 10 minutes.

QUESADILLAS

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, and evenly spread out in skillet. Cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

2. Toss mushrooms, and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, 2 more minutes. Toss, and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside.

3. Add remaining 2 Tbsp oil to skillet; heat over medium high. Add garlic, poblano chiles, white onion and remaining 1 tsp salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion and poblanos are tender and onion is just starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to bowl with mushrooms, and toss to combine. Season with additional salt to taste, if desired.

4. Wipe skillet clean; heat over medium high. Place 2 small tortillas in skillet (or 1 large), and toast until browned in spots but not crispy, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip tortillas; scatter cheese over one half of toasted side. Top with 2 tablespoons of mushroom-onion mixture, and fold tortilla in half. Flatten quesadilla by pressing down using a spatula to seal both sides with melted cheese.

5. Continue cooking, turning once or twice and pressing occasionally, until cheese is melted and tortilla begins to brown and crisp in spots, about 3 minutes, adjusting heat, if needed.

6. Transfer to a plate. Repeat process with remaining tortillas, cheese and mushroom-onion mixture.

7. Serve warm with fresh salsa.

Notes

Notes from Rachel: I prefer jalapeño chiles in the salsa because I don’t love a ring of fire the day after. Jalapeños still make the lips nice and tingly, so plenty hot for me. Substitute habanero, or Anaheim or sweet pepper if you prefer.

I like the quesadillas alone as well, in which case you could halve the salsa ingredients. Sometimes I add spinach or sautéed corn and black beans to the quesadillas if I have some laying around. Seasoning the corn and beans with taco or fajita seasoning first is yummy too.