Roast Asparagus and Caramelized Mushroom Quesadillas with Goat Cheese

Last month we made a fantastic caramelized mushroom and asparagus quesadilla with goat cheese chevre. There are a lot of components to it, so it's not th easiest dish in the world, but it doesn't take all that long and the flavors are totally worth it. Sadly I do not have a picture, but I'm sure we'll make this one again in the near future.

I was a little zealous with the chipotle powder, which Brit's roommate Brooks definitely noticed (and appreciated!). Make sure the asparagus is really tender so you aren't biting into hard pieces in the asparagus. The best part of this dish is easily the goat cheese. I tried my best to cut the cheese into small pieces which were then randomly scattered around the quesadilla. The gooey, delicious surprise when one would bite into the goat cheese was the best part of this meal.

Roast Asparagus and Caramelized Mushroom Quesadillas with Goat Cheese

As is common these days, I found this recipe in one of the numerous food blogs I've subscribed myself to in Google Reader. Brit and I love asparagus, mushrooms, and goat cheese, so this dish was a no brainer.


Roast Asparagus and Caramelized Mushroom Quesadillas with Goat Cheese
(Originally posted on the Closet Cooking food blog)

makes 4 quesadillas

1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 handful cilantro, chopped
10 spears asparagus, trimmed
4 oz goat cheese chevre, diced
1 cup monterey jack cheese, grated
4 (6 inch) tortillas
Sour cream
Salsa

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and saute the onions until they're soft. Add in the garlic, cumin, chipotle powder and saute another minute. Add in the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook until most of the liquid from the mushrooms has been released and evaporated. Remove from heat and mix in the cilantro.

Meanwhile, toss the asparagus with a little oil and lay out on a baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes until they are tender. Cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces and add them into the mushroom mix.

In a clean pan, sprayed with cooking spray, gently heat up a tortilla. Add the mushroom and asparagus mixture, some goat cheese, and some monterey jack cheese. Place another tortilla on top and cook until the bottom is browned. Flip the quesadilla by placing an upside down plate on top of the pan. Quickly invert the two and then slide the flipped quesadilla back into the pan. Cook until the bottom is browned and the cheese is melty.

Serve with some sour cream, salsa, or any other condiment you desire.

Turkey and Squash Quesadillas

Brit and I had originally planned on cooking a chicken curry with cashews dish that we had previously really enjoyed, but we had run out of onions already this week and didn't feel like running to the store real quick. Instead we heated up a bunch of leftovers to eat before they went bad (saffron risotto from last Thursday and chickpeas and tomatoes pasta from last Tuesday) along with extra squash from last Saturday's veggie pizza that we would incorporate into a quesadilla with leftover sliced turkey meat, mexican cheese, and honey mustard from last week's turkey and apple quesadillas.

The quesadilla were made in the same manner as the turkey and apple quesadillas, except we exchanged the apple for the sauteed squash. The combination worked surprisingly well and was overall a big success. I do miss the crunch from the apple slices that our original recipe provides, but the flavor was still quite nice.

Turkey and Apple Quesadillas

Brit and I needed something quick and easy since we had a short period of time before meeting some friends. We had planned this meal specifically for this purpose as we've made it before and know how quick and delicious it is.

Turkey and Apple Quesadillas

Serves 2-4

Sliced turkey breast
Apple, sliced thin
Tortillas
Honey mustard (we make our own)
Grated cheese (we used a mexican blend)
Salsa
Sour cream

Our homemade honey mustard is a simple mix of Trader Joe's dijon mustard and honey that comes from Brit's grandfather's own hives. It has a great kick to it that can really clear out your sinuses if you eat too much.

Over low heat, add a tortilla to a pan, spread some honey mustard on one half, layer with some cheese, apple slices, turkey breast, and more cheese. Fold the tortilla in half and grill on both sides until the tortilla is browned and the cheese is gooey.
Cut in quarters and enjoy with either more of the honey mustard (Brit's choice), sour cream (both of our favorite), and/or some salsa (my choice).

It's nice having another quick and easy dish that has some great flavor and textures to it. We made three quesadillas to split between the two of us, as one is not enough to be full. As it would be with any quesadilla dish, it's great how quick and easy it would be to simply make more if we had company or wanted some leftovers.