Cilantro Pesto and White Bean Quesadillas
A few people have said they're really enjoying these dinner posts, so that's awesome. If anybody doesn't want to see them, though, let me know and I'll set up a filter or something.
In the meantime, here are some quesadillas:
This recipe comes from a cookbook put out by The Grit, a vegetarian restaurant in Athens, GA. The preparation was fairly straightforward - I didn't time myself, but all you do is run the pesto ingredients through a food processor, combine it with the beans, add cheese and a tortilla, and fry them up. I must have used smaller tortillas than they do, because I ended up with fatter quesadillas than they probably intended, and more of them. That didn't seem to be a problem, though; it gave the meal a tapas-like feeling that I'm more inclined to see as a feature than a bug. I also substituted a sharp white cheddar for the mild one they recommend, because, well, I just like sharp cheddar. In this particular recipe, though, I suspect a milder cheese might have suited the overall flavor a little better.
The most interesting part of the dish was the pesto. Since it was made with cilantro and walnuts rather than basil and pine nuts, it had a very different character than a traditional pesto. There was no sharpness at all, though the black pepper gave it a hint of bite, and the walnuts left a strong woody flavor. Everything else in the dish was pretty much what you'd expect - white beans, white cheddar, crisp tortilla shell. I served it with tequila lime salsa, and realized with dismay that I was out of sour cream and/or yogurt just as I was dishing them out. That's really too bad, since I think having the coolness of sour cream or the tang of yogurt to counterbalance the earthy flavors of the quesadilla would have been a real improvement. Orange juice made a good foil, but I think Corazon, hard limeade, or a frozen margarita would have been even better.
All in all, it was a satisfying meal and I was reasonably happy with it. I'd definitely make it again, and with a few changes it could be really excellent.
In the meantime, here are some quesadillas:
This recipe comes from a cookbook put out by The Grit, a vegetarian restaurant in Athens, GA. The preparation was fairly straightforward - I didn't time myself, but all you do is run the pesto ingredients through a food processor, combine it with the beans, add cheese and a tortilla, and fry them up. I must have used smaller tortillas than they do, because I ended up with fatter quesadillas than they probably intended, and more of them. That didn't seem to be a problem, though; it gave the meal a tapas-like feeling that I'm more inclined to see as a feature than a bug. I also substituted a sharp white cheddar for the mild one they recommend, because, well, I just like sharp cheddar. In this particular recipe, though, I suspect a milder cheese might have suited the overall flavor a little better.
The most interesting part of the dish was the pesto. Since it was made with cilantro and walnuts rather than basil and pine nuts, it had a very different character than a traditional pesto. There was no sharpness at all, though the black pepper gave it a hint of bite, and the walnuts left a strong woody flavor. Everything else in the dish was pretty much what you'd expect - white beans, white cheddar, crisp tortilla shell. I served it with tequila lime salsa, and realized with dismay that I was out of sour cream and/or yogurt just as I was dishing them out. That's really too bad, since I think having the coolness of sour cream or the tang of yogurt to counterbalance the earthy flavors of the quesadilla would have been a real improvement. Orange juice made a good foil, but I think Corazon, hard limeade, or a frozen margarita would have been even better.
All in all, it was a satisfying meal and I was reasonably happy with it. I'd definitely make it again, and with a few changes it could be really excellent.