Quesadillas; Homemade Corn Turnovers

Posted on by lynnsmythe
homemade quesadillas

Wow, I can’t believe I actually made homemade quesadillas all by myself! While they aren’t complicated to make, they are a bit time consuming so definitely not something I would make if I was looking for a quick snack. But if you make a double batch, you would end up with lots of leftovers to quickly reheat and eat on the go.

I could have used another set of hands, or a short order cook to help me out while make these quesadillas, but I managed to do it all on my own – YEAH ME! Besides making the turnovers with the pork filling as detailed in this blog post, I also made a few quesadillas filled with a bit of leftover picadillo I made a few days ago.

Quesadillas Prep Work

I made the pulled pork filling and green chile cheese sauce in advance. I actually thought I would wait until the next day to make the quesadillas, but decided to make them later that same day. I blew off my regular Wednesday night bike ride and run (BRICK workout) to stay home and make these delectable corn treats. It’s a good thing they are so time consuming, otherwise I’d probably make them every week. And then I would weigh 1,000 pounds by the end of the year.

Quesadillas Ingredients

Buy Authentic Mexican Food at MexGrocer.com!

I got many of my ingredients from MexGrocer including:

  • Tortilla press
  • Queso cotija
  • Chipolte peppers in adobo sauce
  • Achiote paste
  • Masa harina

You should be able to find most of the ingredients at your grocery store or gourmet market.

Quesadillas Multi Step Recipe

There are three items that you need to make before you can start putting the quesadillas together. The filling and sauce can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. To reheat the cheese sauce, I stirred in 2 tablespoons of chicken broth and heated it up in the microwave for a few minutes. You could also reheat the green chile cheese sauce in a small pan placed over medium low heat.

  1. Filling – pulled pork with spicy red chile sauce.
  2. Sauce – mild green chile cheese sauce
  3. Quesadilla dough

Pulled Pork with Red Chile Sauce

Queso cotija is a very salty, Mexican cheese which is a bit like feta. In fact, use feta cheese if you can’t find queso cotija. Chipolte is a smoked jalapeno pepper that can be found in most grocery stores. Also called adobo sauce, they are packed in small cans of a vinegar based sauce. Achiote paste is a combination of achiote seeds, vinegar, salt, garlic and spices. I bought achiote seeds but they are hard as a rock so I find it’s much easier to buy ready made paste.

You can make pulled pork from scratch (I’ll have to post up the recipe in a future blog post). But I had some leftover pozole in the refrigerator so I simply strained out the pork, and shredded it with a fork. The pork was already well seasoned from when it was cooked in the pozole. You could use chopped, cooked chicken or cooked ground beef in place of the pork, if desired.

Ingredients for Pork with Red Chile Sauce

  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded pork
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 chipolte in adobo sauce – minced
  • 1 teaspoon achiote paste
  • 1 tablespoon hot water
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon Spanish sweet paprika
  • 1/2 cup crumbled queso cotija

Directions for Pork with Red Chile Sauce

  1. Place the shredded pork into a mixing bowl.
  2. Stir in the garlic and chipolte.
  3. In a small cup, blend the achiote paste with the hot water. Stir the mixture into the pork.
  4. Stir in the cumin, coriander, paprika and cheese.

Green Chile Cheese Sauce

The pork filling is quite spicy, so this mild green chile cheese sauce is a nice compliment to the spicy filling. I have a HUGE Mexican oregano bush growing near my front door, which I can harvest whenever I need it. But, regular oregano can be substituted for the Mexican oregano if necessary. 

To prepare the zucchini, first I peeled it, then I grated it. Then I wrapped it up in a clean, kitchen towel and squeezed the excess moisture out of it.

Ingredients for Green Chile Cheese Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 cups grated zucchini – squeeze out excess moisture
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onions
  • 1 tablespoon fresh, or 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2/3 cup mild, green chile sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 cup shredded cheese such as Monterey jack, cheddar or Mexican cheese blend
  • 1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro leaves

Directions for the Green Chile Cheese Sauce

  1. Add the oil to a large frying pan placed over medium heat.
  2. Add the zucchini and green onions to the pan, and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Stir in the oregano, salt and nutmeg.
  4. In a small cup or bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the green chile sauce then whisk the mixture into the frying pan of zucchini/green onions.
  5. Stir in the shredded cheese and continue whisking the sauce until all the cheese has melted and the sauce is thick and creamy.
  6. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cilantro.

Making Quesadilla Dough

There are two ways to make the quesadilla dough, either using the traditional ingredients, or using the modern ingredients. I used the modern method. Masa harina is a dried corn flour, which is specifically processed for use in tortillas and tamales. Do not substitute corn meal!

Traditional Quesadilla Dough Ingredients

  • 2 cups masa harina
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 7/8 cups warm water
  • 2 tablespoons pork lard

Modern Quesadilla Dough Ingredients

  • 2 cups masa harina
  • 1 7/8 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons margarine – melted

Directions for the Quesadilla Dough

  1. Place the masa harina in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Heat the chicken broth in the microwave, using a microwave safe container.
  3. Slowly stir in the chicken broth and melted margarine into the masa harina using a large fork.
  4. Form the dough into a ball, and knead a few times with your hands.
  5. Set the dough aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

Assembling the Corn Turnovers

  • 1 recipe pulled pork quesadillas filling
  • 1 recipe green chile cheese sauce
  • 1 recipe quesadilla dough
  • Tortilla press
  • Gallon size plastic freezer bag – cut in half
  • Comal or large frying pan
  • Vegetable oil

Directions for Making Corn Turnovers

  1. Place one half of the plastic freezer bag on the bottom of the tortilla press.
  2. Place a 1 1/2 to 2 inch ball of quesadilla dough on the middle of the tortilla press.
  3. Place the other half of the plastic bag on top of the quesadilla dough ball.
  4. Press the dough flat.
  5. Open the tortilla press and remove the top plastic bag.
  6. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling in the middle of the quesadilla.
  7. Fold the bottom plastic bag in half, forming a turnover, or what I like to call a giant Mexican ravioli (I’ve got a bit of Italian blood on my father’s side of the family).
  8. Seal the edges of the turnover using your fingers, making sure not to rip/poke a hole in the dough.
  9. Place 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large frying pan placed over medium to medium high heat.
  10. Add 3-4 quesadillas to the pan and cook until lightly browned on both sides.
  11. Place the cooked quesadillas onto a large serving platter.
  12. Add additional oil to the pan if necessary, and continue making, filling and cooking the turnovers until all the filling and dough has been used.
  13. Place 1-2 quesadillas on a small plate, and cover with the green chilie cheese sauce .
  14. EAT – EAT – EAT (nom-nom-nom!!!)

Vegetarian Quesadillas

My daughter went through her first vegan phase when she was about 14. She’s in college now and works part-time at the local Tijuana Flats. She never found a faux, dairy-free cheese she really liked so now she’s vegetarian and is much happier to have added real cheese back to her diet.

I honestly don’t know how anybody could work at Tijuana Flats (or any Mexican-inspired restaurant) and NOT load up everything with cheese. And, since she’s a college student and living on a very tight budget, that employee discount means she ends up eating a lot of her meals at Tijuana Flats.

To make a vegetarian version of the corn turnovers, you can simple substitute vegetable broth instead for the chicken broth. For the filling I might try heating up some soy crumbles, mixing them with taco seasoning and adding a bit of shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese blend. And once you smother the home-made corn turnovers with the green chile cheese sauce I don’t think you’d even know they were vegetarian.

Discover all kinds of delicious meals to serve along with your morning coffee in the Creative Cottage e-book: Herbal Breakfast Cookbook; 40 Creative Recipes for Your Morning Meal.

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