Broccoli Quesadillas
Why I Love This Recipe
I'm a vegetarian and this is one of the first recipes I learned, thanks to my fellow vegetarian Aunt Liz. This is a simple fresh recipe using broccoli as the main ingredient and many optional condiments. You could also So for all you Lacto-Ovo vegetarians...To make four big servings, I usually use this much of everything:
Ingredients You'll Need
1 head of broccoli (using both florets and stalk)
1 large onion (preferably red)
2 Annaheim peppers or one good sized green bell pepper (neither are spicy)
1 medium tomato (I prefer a couple grape tomatoes because they're sweeter)
about 16 oz/ 2 cups cheddar & monterey jack cheese
one package 10 burrito size flour tortillas
olive oil to suautee
spices:
ground cinnamon
ground cumin
garlic powder
red pepper or chilli powder (depends on if you want it spicy)
condiments:
sour cream (easily substituted by plain yogurt)
salsa or hot sauce of your choice
guacamole (1 fresh avocado mashed or blended ina food processor with a bit of lemon to prevent browning)
Directions
To start, prepare all the vegetables. I start by chopping broccoli into smaller than bite size (so they'll lay flat in the tortilla). Then I dice the onion, pepper and tomato. Set these aside and heat a frying pan with some olive oil. I carmelize the onions while I steam the broccoli for a minute or two in the microwave. After the broccoli steams, I add it to the onion and dash a little of each of the spices in. Then I add the peppers and tomato. Add more spice and oil as needed.
I usually use the same pan as a griddle so that the flavor is on the tortilla, too. So that means set the vegetables aside. It can also go faster to just use a couple pan or a large griddle. I start by warming a tortilla in the pan, turning to prevent burning, when it's warm I then sprinkle cheese on half the surface and take spoonful of veggies and fold the tortilla, turning the quesadilla wwhen one side is golden brown.
These are really tasty with a sweet salsa or hot sauce, especially to complement the cinnamon.
See my other recipes for homeade side dihes and dips.