Quesadillas with poblano rajas

There are not many foods simpler than a quesadilla. Tortillas, cheese, heat, eat. Of course there are many variations on the basic version, and I think my favorite happens to be the addition of poblano rajas. Poblano rajas is a mixture of roasted poblano chiles, onion, garlic and Mexican oregano. I adapted this recipe from Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen.

The recipe starts with poblano peppers. These peppers are pretty mild, but there is some heat packed into the seeds and veins, so take caution when removing those. The peppers are roasted until blackened, peeled, and cut into thin strips.

The onions and garlic are cooked separately in a pan. I like to use a red onion in this recipe because it adds a hint of sweetness.

After the onions and garlic are cooked, the pepper strips are added. The whole mixture is seasoned with salt, pepper and mexican oregano. I keep both Mexican and Mediterranean oregano on hand. If you don’t have Mexican oregano, you can substitute a different variety, but the flavor won’t be exactly the same.

Once the poblano rajas is done, it’s time to assemble the quesadillas. The original recipe calls for corn tortillas and Mexican cheese. I typically use flour tortillas with whatever cheese we have on hand. Not exactly traditional, but convenient and still delicious. This time around, I used flour tortillas with white cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and topped each quesadilla with avocado and cilantro.

Poblano rajas

Makes about 2 cups

1 pound poblano peppers, seeded, roasted and peeled
1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium red onion
2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

salt and pepper to taste

Cut the peppers and onion into 1/4 inch slices. Heat the oil at medium heat in a skillet. Add the red onion, cook for 5-7 minutes until translucent and slightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the poblanos and oregano to the pan, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Smoky braised pumpkin with seared onion

As you've probably noticed by now, I've been doing a lot of braising lately. Instead of being sad about the end of summer produce, I've embraced the best that fall has to offer. This recipe is from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen cookbook. If you can find a mexican pumpkin, great; if not, use a sugar pie pumpkin like I did. A mixture of roasted tomatillos, chipotle, tomatoes and garlic is poured over the peeled, cubed pumpkin and topped with seared onion. Make sure to use plenty of salt and pepper because the pumpkin will release liquid as it cooks and dilute the salsa mixture. The recipe has an optional step of adding some pork, which I skipped since I was serving this as a side dish.

The sweetness of the pumpkin was a nice contrast to the smoky and spicy tomatillo mixture. That being said, this dish was good, but not amazing considering the lengthy prep and cook time. The pork would have probably added another flavor dimension. I think this would also work with a butternut or kabocha squash.