Iceberg Wedge Salad with Russian Dressing

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By Alex Guarnaschelli   –   Today.com

Pickles and pickle juice are used to make this Russian Dressing.

SERVINGS:

4-6

I really love ketchup and mayonnaise. Not only that, they are two condiments that I generally never make from scratch. Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Heinz ketchup are classics and I haven’t made a batch from scratch that has tasted as good to me. I like to amplify the flavors with really good pickles and fresh horseradish.

Ingredients

  • DRESSING

    • 1 cup mayonnaise
    • 2 medium cloves garlic, grated
    • 1/3 cup ketchup
    • 1 medium dill pickle, finely chopped
    • 2 tablespoons pickle brine
    • 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
    • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 teaspoon hot sauce, preferably Tabasco
    • Kosher salt

  • ASSEMBLY

    • 2 large heads Iceberg lettuce, outer leaves removed, cut in half or thirds
    • 1 small bunch chives, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Preparation

For the dressing:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, garlic, ketchup, chopped pickle and pickle juice, horseradish, Worcestershire and Tabasco. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

To assemble:

Place each wedge of lettuce onto a plate. Drizzle with dressing and top with chives. Serve immediately.

Jalapeno Jack Savory Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Salsa Mayo

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Perfect for grilling and chilling season

By The Daily Meal Contributors   –   The Daily Meal

Jennie-O
This stuffed turkey burger gets a nice little kick from the salsa mayonnaise and jalapeno cheese.

Recipe Courtesy of Jennie-O

Stuffing the cheese into the middle of a burger is so much better than just melting it on top. This stuffed turkey burger gets a nice little kick from the salsa mayonnaise and jalapeno cheese.

Ingredients

For the Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Salsa Mayo

  • 16 ounces ground turkey, such as JENNIE-O® Lean Ground Turkey
  • 1 cup salsa, such as CHI-CHI’S® Medium Thick n’ Chunky Salsa, divided
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
  • 4 slices jalapeno jack cheese
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup baby spinach leaves
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained
  • 1/2 Red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 Burger buns

Directions

For the Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Salsa Mayo

Combine ground turkey with ½ cup of salsa, olive oil, salt and pepper, and breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Form into eight thin patties, about four inches wide and ½-inch thick. Fold each slice of cheese into quarters and overlap the quarters to create a stack. Place a stack of cheese in the center of four patties. Cover with remaining patties, crimp edges closed.

Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat skillet over medium-high heat. Add burger patties to hot skillet. Cook approximately 14 to 16 minutes, flipping three times. Always cook to well-done, 165°F as measured by a meat thermometer.

Combine remaining salsa and mayonnaise in a small bowl. To assemble burgers, spread salsa mayo on the top and bottom of each bun, add a layer of spinach, a stuffed burger, sundried tomatoes and red onion slices.

Nutritional Facts

Total Fat
22g
31%
Sugar
11g
12%
Saturated Fat
8g
33%
Cholesterol
93mg
31%
Carbohydrate, by difference
55g
42%
Protein
29g
63%
Vitamin A, RAE
43µg
6%
Vitamin B-12
2µg
83%
Vitamin B-6
1mg
77%
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid
13mg
17%
Vitamin K (phylloquinone)
1µg
1%
Calcium, Ca
69mg
7%
Choline, total
76mg
18%
Fiber, total dietary
3g
12%
Fluoride, F
6µg
0%
Folate, total
34µg
9%
Iron, Fe
3mg
17%
Magnesium, Mg
60mg
19%
Manganese, Mn
1mg
56%
Niacin
9mg
64%
Pantothenic acid
2mg
40%
Phosphorus, P
310mg
44%
Selenium, Se
37µg
67%
Sodium, Na
722mg
48%
Water
142g
5%
Zinc, Zn
4mg
50%
MORE FROM USDA
Have a question about the nutrition data?Let us know.

5-Ingredient Spicy Black Bean Jalapeño Burgers [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

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By Michele Elizabeth   –   One Green Planet

Black Bean Jalapeno Burger

These 5-ingredient spicy black bean jalapeño burgers are paired with a tahini lime sauce, healthy, tasty, and store well in the freezer. These simple burgers have a hearty, earthy flavor that’s given a spicy kick from the jalapeños that is counteracted by the creamy, tangy tahini sauce. Plus they’re quick and easy to make.

5-INGREDIENT SPICY BLACK BEAN JALAPEÑO BURGERS [VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE]

THIS RECIPE IS :

Dairy Free Gluten-free Recipes High Carb Vegan High Fiber No Refined Sugar Oil Free / Low Fat Soy Free Sugar Free / Low Sugar Vegan Wheat Free

SERVES

4

COOK TIME

30

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BURGERS:

  • 1 15-ounce can black beans
  • 1 jalapeño
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free oats
  • 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
  • A pinch of salt plus pepper (optional)

FOR THE SAUCE:

  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice

PREPARATION

  1. Make the quinoa and let cool.
  2. Put the oats in food processor and pulse them until a textured flour is formed.
  3. Add this to a large bowl for mixing.
  4. Drain and rinse the black beans, pulse them in a food processor until they’re broken up and mashed looking.
  5. Add them to the bowl.
  6. Roughly chop the jalapeño and onion, place them in the food processor, and pulse them until they’re tiny and minced looking. Add them to the bowl. Add the quinoa to the bowl.
  7. Using a spoon or your hands, mix the ingredients up well and form large burger patties.
  8. Using a non-stick pan or sprayed pan, heat it to medium heat and place the burgers in the skillet.
  9. Cook them until they’re golden brown and crispy (5-10 minutes) and then carefully flip them and cook the other side.
  10. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together and drizzle it over the burgers.

EXPLORE MORE RECIPES WITH THIS INGREDIENT:

JALAPEÑO

 

Sweet peaches and jalapeños and other Southern-Latino love stories

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By Liz Balmaseda   –   PalmBeachPost.com

Contributed by Sandra A. Gutierrez
Hot, peachy love: a peach salsa that tells the story of a region transformed by migrations.

When the sweet peach met the spicy jalapeño, a border-defying love story was sparked and life was made infinitely more delicious for Southern palates.

If you don’t believe me, pick up a tortilla chip and scoop up some of Sandra Gutierrez’s peach salsa.

Gutierrez, a North Carolina-based author and expert on Latin American cuisines, has been tracing Latin threads in the foods the South.

“An easy and simple analogy is this: When you drive down 1-95 and you pass into South Carolina and into Georgia, you begin to see signs among the trees, then the palm trees. Say ‘peach salsa.’ Really, it’s pico de gallo that’s made with different fruit,” Gutierrez said in a recent interview. Her cross-cultural culinary explorations are contained in her newly reissued cookbook, “The New Southern-Latino Table” (UNC Press).

Of course, long before there was peach salsa, there were Mississippi Delta hot tamales. While there are various theories about their origin, Gutierrez finds one most plausible: It was Mexican cotton field workers who introduced tamales to African American workers, “who then substituted readily available ingredients for traditional Mexican ones,” she writes in the book.

Fast-forward to today and you’ll find long, thin hot tamales, stuffed with boldly seasoned meat and simmered with cayenne and other spices, are ubiquitous in the Delta region. They are tamales, but no longer Mexican. They are their own thing. To find the Mexican essence in a Southern dish is a little like discovering the Latin bass line in rock-and-roll classics. Who gets bragging rights to the final product? Like hot tamales, the final product is a new expression.

Which brings us to one of Gutierrez’s core observations:

“I don’t believe a cuisine can be owned. People are loving the word appropriation these days. No one can own a cuisine. The world has been in a culinary flux since the very beginning,” Gutierrez told us by phone from her Cary, NC, home.

As people migrate, they bring with them their sense of cuisine and cooking techniques, she says. “Whoever is moving to the South, they are bringing ingredients. And the Southerners are taking a liking to them and including them in their food,” says the author and culinary instructor.

Today Gutierrez takes cooking inspiration from those Latino-Southern recipe exchanges. The woman who grew up in the United States and in her family’s native Guatemala puts jalapeños in her deviled eggs. She gives Carolina pulled pork a Mexican pibil treatment for mini sandwiches. She whips up a luxurious crab soup that echoes flavors of those enjoyed across South America. She gives Southern pickled shrimp a decidedly escabeche accent.

Gutierrez also finds these mingled accents when she dines at friends’ homes.

“I was at a dinner party at the edge of a golf course in Cary. Some friends invited me. They were serving barbecued goat that they had cooked on a spit in the backyard. There was barbecue sauce and chimichurri. And tostones. These are Southerners,” she recalled.

When she asked where they got the idea and the recipe, her friends told her they had tried “cabrito” (goat) on a trip.

“This is what makes it a movement. (The culinary influence) is not just one-directional. It is not restaurant or chef-promoted. This is happening organically. It started decades ago at peoples’ homes,” said Gutierrez, an active contributor to the Smithsonian’s current Latino-themed exhibit titled “Gateways/Portales.”

The author began to trace the non-seasonal flow of Latin Americans into the South in the 1990s. Many were escaping political strife and looking to establish roots there.

“I started noticing it in the food. My friends in the South were adding Latin ingredients to the food, like chipotle peppers added to barbecue sauce,” she said. “Potato salads were not just made in the Southern traditional style, but now layered in the Peruvian style. Even if the ingredients were the same, the seasonings would be different.”

She says she started picking up the scent of cilantro and cumin in foods. “That was new.”

Now it’s all part of a new Southern lexicon. If you think about it, the Southern-Latino mingling of foods makes perfect sense, says Gutierrez, who notes the cuisines of the American South as well as across Latin Americans are based on native, European and African influences.

“We have the exact same basket of ingredients – pork, corn, chiles, chocolate, squash, beans. We have the same cooking techniques – we grill, braise, fry,” she said. “It’s the way we interpret it together that created our different cuisines.”

RECIPES 

The following recipe and author’s text are reprinted from Sandra A. Gutierrez’s cookbook, “The New Southern-Latino Table,” with permission of the publisher, University of North Carolina Press.

Seasonal peaches make salsa sweet. Jalapenos and cilantro make it a party. Jenni Girtman/ Atlanta Event Photography

Peach Salsa 

In this new spin on a classic, peaches replace tomatoes, and the result is a healthy, colorful, and refreshing salsa. Whether you choose to eat it with tortilla chips or use it to dress grilled fish, this peachy take on traditional pico de gallo will satisfy your cravings for sweet, sour, and spicy flavors.

Select fresh peaches that are still firm, so their flesh will keep its shape when cubed. I prefer free-stone varieties, which have loose pits that release easily from the flesh, making them much simpler to slice. Frozen and thawed peaches may be used in lieu of fresh, but nothing beats the flavor of local, seasonal peaches. – Sandra A. Gutierrez 

Makes 2 1/2 cups salsa 

2 cups peeled and cubed fresh peaches (about 3 large peaches)

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems)

2 tablespoons minced jalapeños (seeded and deveined if less heat is desired)

1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained

2 teaspoons grated lime zest

Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Make the salsa 

In a medium bowl, combine the peaches, onions, cilantro, jalapeños, pimientos, and lime zest. Add the lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Let the salsa sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend, or cover and chill until ready to use (for up to 24 hours).

 

Miso, whey and a pickled surprise

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Thinkstock

By PRATIK GHOSH   –   DNA

Pratik Ghosh finds new-age pickling methods to tickle your tastebuds.

It’s impossible to see the sunny side of scorching summers, unless you’re pickling. The age-old tradition can be traced back to 2030 BC, when cucumbers bought from India were pickled in the ancient Tigris Valley. Since then vegetables and meat have been sliced and diced and entombed in vessels for round-the-year use. In India, pickles have been around for millennia, although its origins are hazy. The megastar status they enjoy in the country is such that every region contributes an impressive array, both in terms of techniques and the finished products. No matter which part of India you belong to, it’s a part of the thali. Although we know achar to be a Hindi word, it has Persian origins. It means powdered or salted meats or fruits, preserved in salt, vinegar, honey, or syrup.

Traditionally, the first step in home-made pickling is sun-drying the fruits/vegetables/fish/ meat. That explains why the summer months are considered ideal. Though vinegar and salt are widely used for pickling, oil is the most popular medium since it acts as a wall, preventing atmospheric oxygen from interfering with the pickling process. But there are other techniques that make the sun redundant. In this day and age of eating right, pickling in India is also undergoing a healthy makeover with increased emphasis on probiotics. This is where whey (liquid that remains after curdling and straining milk), veg culture and miso (traditional Japanese seasoning prepared by fermenting soybeans with salt and a fungus called koji) come into the picture. Miso can also be made from barley, rice, or other grains. The veggies are fermented using one of these with salt and filtered water to create their own self-preserving acidic liquid. This lactic acid aids digestion when consumed with the fermented vegetables. It’s a win-win situation where taste and health benefits go hand-in-hand.

“Pickling through this process is new in India,” says Chef Paul Kinny, Culinary Director, Bellona Hospitality, who recently held a workshop with wellness chef Moina Oberoi at a cafe in a Lower Parel mall.

Basic Active Culture Recipe

Courtesy: Moina Oberoi

1 tbsp natural salt (Himalayan salt/sea salt)

1 cup filtered water

1 tsp whey/active vegetable culture/miso

Method

Make your basic brine and set aside. Cut the harder vegetables such as carrot, turnip and radish in small pieces, and softer vegetables like cucumber in large pieces. Clean them thoroughly with filter water. If you’re using active culture brine, you can blanch and shock the harder vegetables (for those who prefer them softer). For the shock treatment, dip the hard ones in boiling water for 10 seconds and put them in ice water till they are cool. The brine must fill up the jar till the top, but also take into account the volume of veggies and give a suitable buffer. Monitor the pickles every 24 hours for a minimum of seven days before refrigerating. Keep tasting along the way. Refrigeration reduces the fermentation process.

Things to check:

Carbonation: Burp the bottle daily to release carbonation. Look out for moulds. If they are white, simply remove it and monitor for a few days. If it doesn’t grow back, your pickle is safe. Any other colour of mould spells doom for your labour of love.

Smell: Your effort has gone to waste if it smells vinegary, alcoholic or funky. “It’s a very thin line between good and bad, so when in doubt, throw it out,” avers Chef Kinny.

Add flavour: After the first seven days, you may add sugar and/vinegar if you want to balance the sweetness and sourness.

Southern Cornbread with Honey Butter and Pickled Jalapeno Relish

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By MARIO BATALI   –   ABC.com

servings: 8|easy|30 to 45 min

Southern Cornbread with Jalapeno Relish

Mario’s Cornbread will be your new favorite side dish!

INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE SOUTHERN CORNBREAD:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs (beaten)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted, plus 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
FOR THE HONEY BUTTER:
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • Kosher salt (to taste)
FOR THE PICKLED JALAPENO RELISH:
  • 1 cup champagne vinegar
  • 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 star anise pod
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 3/4 pound jalapeno peppers (thinly sliced)
  • 1/2 red onion (peeled)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons honey
DIRECTIONS:
  • For the Southern Cornbread: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Place a 9-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven to heat.
  • In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and olive oil. Stir to combine.
  • Carefully remove the heated pan from the oven. Add the cold butter and let it sizzle until it browns, then pour the batter into the pan. Return to the oven and bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the cornbread starts to brown. Slice into wedges and serve warm with the honey butter and pickled jalapeno relish.
  • For the Honey Butter: In a medium bowl, combine the softened butter, honey and season with Kosher salt to taste. Transfer to a glass jar for serving.
  • For the Pickled Jalapeno Relish: In a large non-reactive saucepan, add the vinegars and water and bring to a simmer. Add the sugar, star anise, mustard seeds, bay leaf and chili flakes. Simmer for about 3 minutes.
  • Place the sliced jalapenos in a 1-quart mason jar and cover them with the pickling liquid. Allow the jar to cool to room temperature, cover with the lid and refrigerate overnight until ready to use.
  • In the bowl of a food processor pulse the red onion until finely chopped. Heat a saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Saute onion for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add 3 cups pickled jalapenos to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Remove to the saute pan, add 1/2 cup of the pickle brine and honey and bring to a simmer. Allow to cool and store in a glass jar until ready to use.
  • Tip: The honey butter and relish can be stored in airtight containers and kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks!

How To Make Mac And Cheese Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers

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Kirsten Nunez

By Kirsten Nunez

There is something magical about stuffing food with other food. I mean, just take a look at this recipe for homemade mac and cheese stuffed jalapeño peppers: It lets you combine cult-favorite ingredients into a single dish. And while it is easier to throw chopped peppers into macaroni and cheese — where is the fun in that? This technique is way more gram-worthy. Just saying.

It also doubles as a delicious party appetizer. Instead of spoons and bowls, you will just need your good old fingers, and maybe even some napkins. To spice things up, serve these peppers with salsa. Sour cream, on the other hand, is ideal if you want to turn down the heat. Craving a healthier option? Opt for plain Greek yogurt with cilantro. The cooling effect of this simple sauce will complement the peppers perfectly.

The best part is that you can use homemade or boxed macaroni and cheese. The choice is yours. Obviously, homemade mac and cheese will taste better, but the latter is useful for when you are in a rush. You can even try this out with a vegan version.

To (literally) top it off, these stuffed peppers call for crushed tortilla chips instead of breadcrumbs. Yes. Please.

Source: Kirsten Nunez

Ingredients:

  • 8 to 10 jalapeño peppers
  • Macaroni and cheese (boxed or homemade)
  • Tortilla chips
  • Grated cheese
  • Spices and butter (optional)

You’ll also need to wear gloves while handling the jalapeño peppers. If you don’t have gloves, be extra careful and avoid touching your face. The juice and seeds will sting.

1. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cut each jalapeño pepper lengthwise.

2. Using a small spoon, scoop out the peppers and veins from each jalapeño half.

3. Place the jalapeño halves on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes until soft.

4. Meanwhile, crush the tortilla chips in a coffee bean grinder or food processor. You’ll need just under a quarter of a cup for every 10 jalapeños.  If you’d like, mix the tortilla chip crumbs with melted butter. This will help them turn brown, crispy, and delicious. You can also add spices for an extra boost of flavor.

5. Scoop macaroni and cheese into each jalapeño half.

6. Top each jalapeño half with grated cheese and chip crumbs.

7. Pop back in the oven for another five minutes, or until the cheese melts.

Now, that’s what I call a party in your mouth.

 

Fiesta Chicken Burrito Recipe – Made with Pain Is Good Batch #218 Smoked Jalapeño Salsa from Peppers.com

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PEPPERS
April 8, 2017

Pain Is Good Batch #218 Smoked Jalapeño Salsa

Ingredients:
  • 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts
  • 2 teaspoons Butter
  • 1 pinch Pinch salt
  • 1 pinch Pinch pepper
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar
  • 2/3 cup Sour Cream
  • 1 cup diced green pepper
  • 1/3 cup Pain Is Good Batch #218 Smoked Jalapeño Salsa
  • 1/2 cup sliced black olives (optional)
  • 1 Jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 4 large flour tortillas

Pain Is Good Batch #218 Smoked Jalapeño Salsa

Directions:
  1. Cut chicken into small 1-inch (2.5cm) cubes. In skillet, melt butter over medium high heat and cook chicken for about 8 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour into large bowl and stir in 1/2 cup (375mL) of the cheese, sour cream, green pepper, Pain Is Good Batch #218 Smoked Jalapeño Salsa, olives, Jalapeño, and cilantro.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
  3. Divide mixture among tortillas: Fold and roll to enclose filling completely; place seam side down in small baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
  4. Bake in center of oven for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and tortillas are crispy.
Check out all of our great sauces and spices at www.Peppers.com

ROB RABINE: Recipe — Go ahead and pickle it

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By Ron Rabine   –  Shore Line Times

Pickling veggies is not only artisanal, but good for your gut, the author says.

 

Who doesn’t like a good pickle? You kind of take them for granted until you taste a bad one.

The first time I made a batch of sour dill pickles, I had to move them out to the barn because I used a container that had a loose top and the entire house smelled like pickles for three days. It was only after we finished the pickles and I washed out the container that I noticed the bottom said, “Not safe for food storage.” I should probably get tested for lead poisoning. Live and learn. Now I use a mason jar.

Salt-based, lacto-fermented foods like pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi and the like are quite popular right now for a couple reasons: one-they are artisanal and that’s always popular, and two-because of their probiotic benefit. It’s good for your gut, so to speak.

Salt-based brines are called lacto-fermentation brines not because of any milk-based products, but because of the naturally occurring lacto-bacteria that eats sugar and makes lactic acid as a by-product, making your pickles tart.

Use any combo of vegetables you want, just keep them anaerobic, under water the whole time, and skim off any foam that collects. Filtered or distilled water helps the fermentation process. Follow me on Istagram @robert.rabine. I’m wicked interesting.

Mixed Pickled Vegetables

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 quart filtered or distilled water

1 cup celery, sliced ½ inch thick on the bias

½ cup cucumber, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise, then cut an inch thick

½ cup carrot, peeled and sliced ½ thick on the bias

½ cup asparagus spears, trimmed and sliced ½ inch on the bias

½ cup red pepper, sliced ½ inch thick

1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 cabbage leaf

Combine the salt and room temperature water and stir until the salt is completely dissolved. Layer the vegetables and other ingredients in a clean mason jar, leaving about an inch of space on top. Pour enough salt water over the vegetables, pressing them down tightly with a clean spatula so they are completely submerged under the brine. Top with the cabbage leaf. Seal the jar tightly and leave out in a warm spot in the kitchen. Once a day, open the jar to let out some of the gas, and skim off and foam that collects on top. Taste the pickles after three days or so. Refrigerate after they taste sour enough for you-from 3 to 5 days. Pickles last up to a month in the refrigerator. Yield 1 quart.

Boozy, cheesy quesadillas get a kick from tequila, jalapenos

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Lake Fong/Post-Gazette
St. Rita Quesadillas are filled with mushroom, onion, black beans, corn and cheddar cheese, and topped with feta, cilantro and jalapeno slices.

 

By Arthi Subramaniam / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Traditionally in Mexico, the quesadilla is a small corn tortilla doubled over a filling of stringy Oaxaca cheese, poblano chili and serrated epazote leaves, and cooked on an ungreased griddle until it’s mottled with brown spots.

But when it crosses the northern border, the quesadilla is gussied up and all kinds of ingredients make their way inside. The tortilla wedge does not differentiate when it comes to cheeses or vegetables/meats and appears as a fried appetizer or grilled entree at a lunch or dinner table. It’s often made with a flour tortilla and loaded with semisoft cheese such as cheddar, and cooked until the cheese melts.

In “Cooking With Cocktails,” author Kristy Gardner says a bottle of St-Germain inspired her to come with the St. Rita quesadillas. The bold and brazen quesadillas are filled with a mushroom-black bean-corn-pickled jalapeno mixture that is spiked with tequila and St-Germain, a fruity-floral liqueur infused with elderflowers. I found citrusy liqueurs such as Grand Marnier or Triple Sec also work just as well.

And that’s not all. A whole cup of cheddar cheese goes into the filling and crumbled feta cheese sits on top. To turn up the heat and flavor, sliced jalapenos and finely chopped cilantro are scattered all over this masterpiece.

You won’t have to worry about serving it with guac, salsa or that lame dollop of sour cream; St. Rita is wondrous just by itself.

— Arthi Subramaniam, Post-Gazette 

St. Rita Quesadillas

PG tested

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing tortillas, divided

10 ounces baby bella mushrooms, wiped clean and cubed

Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup white onion, finely diced

1 (14-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon pickled jalapeno, diced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons silver tequila

2 tablespoons St-Germain liqueur

1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

6 medium flour tortillas

6 cups cheddar cheese

1/2 cup crumbled feta

Fresh cilantro, for garnish

1/4 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced, for garnish

Drizzle 2 tablespoons oil into a large frying pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add mushrooms and season generously with salt and pepper.

Saute until mushrooms are cooked through and start to get a good amount of color on them.

Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened.

Toss in black beans, garlic, pickled jalapeno, cumin, tequila and St-Germain. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the corn and heat through for a couple of minutes.

Pour stuffing mixture into a bowl, wipe out the pan, and place it back on the heat.

Brush one side of a tortilla with a small amount of oil. Place tortilla, oil side down, and cover one-half with 3/4 cup cheddar and 1/2 cup filling mixture.

Add another 1/4 cup cheddar. This will help hold the filling in place.

Using a spatula, fold the empty half of tortilla over the filling. When the bottom gets crispy and cheese starts melting, carefully but swiftly flip over the quesadilla to crisp the other side.

Remove from pan and set aside on a cutting board. Repeat until all quesadillas are made.

Cut quesadillas into quarters and serve sprinkled with feta, cilantro and jalapeno slices.

Serves 6.

— Adapted from “Cooking With Cocktails” by Kristy Gardner (The Countryman Press; February 2017; $29.95)