Steak Quesadillas

For the meat, use about ¾ pound of skirt steak. That will make three folded quesadillas using 10-inch flour tortillas. It will be plenty for a dinner for two.

For the “Tex-Mex” version, prepare a rub out of the following ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• ½ tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper

Blend these ingredients together, sprinkle the rub on the skirt steak, and rub in. Drizzle the juice of one lime over the meat. Then place the meat in a food storage bag and refrigerate for at least an hour. Cutting the steak in half will allow it to fit in the bag and will make frying the meat easier.

For the “Philly Cheese Steak” version, just salt and pepper the steak just before frying

From here on, the preparation is the same for both quesadilla versions.

The additional ingredients:

• Flour or corn tortillas. I used three 10-inch flour tortillas and folded them when cooking.
• One large yellow onion – peel and slice into 1/8- to 1/4-inch rounds and cut them in half
• One green bell pepper. Remove seeds and webbing. Slice into 1/8 inch strips.
• 1 ½ cups of melting cheese. Traditionally, Mexican Oaxaca cheese is used, but you can substitute Monterrey Jack cheese if Oaxaca cheese is not available.

Cooking Instructions:

Add a little oil to a frying pan, and fry the steak on medium-high for about three minutes per side or until it is cooked, medium rare. Set the steak aside to let it rest.

While the steak is resting, wipe out the frying pan, add a Tablespoon or two of oil, and fry the onion and pepper over medium heat until the onions are softened but not browned. Remove onion and pepper from the pan.

Slice the cooked steak into thin strips, cutting across the grain of the meat.

The quesadilla can either be folded in half as the cheese melts or it can be made with two smaller tortillas with the layer of cheese between them. Stacked tortillas can be a little tricky to flip, especially if the cheese has not melted enough to stick the tortillas together.

Heat the frying pan to medium high and place a tortilla in the pan. Spread about ½ cup of cheese over ½ of the tortilla. Spread 1/3 of the meat and 1/3 of the onions and peppers on top of the cheese, and use a spatula to fold the empty half of the tortilla onto the ‘loaded’ side. Press gently on the folded tortilla so it stays folded. Flip the quesadilla over and cook on the other side. Your quesadilla is done when the cheese is completely melted and the tortilla is getting crispy.

Cut each quesadilla into three wedges and serve with Mexican Crema or sour cream, fresh cilantro, sliced avocado or guacamole, a salsa of your choice, and lime wedges. Once again, be creative and use your favorite ingredients.