Chef notes
There's a stall at one of our favorite farmers' markets that makes a loaded veggie quesadilla, and Thomas and I hit it up pretty much every weekend. They sauté a ton of different veggies, stuff them into an extra-cheesy quesadilla and grill it until it's crispy. Um, perfection. So you can imagine how pumped I was one night when Thomas offered to make dinner and whipped up his version, which was every bit as gooey and delicious as the original.
Swap option: This recipe features our favorite vegetables to use, but this will work with just about anything in your fridge.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium sweet potato, cut into small dice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 head baby bok choy, ends trimmed and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 5 leaves kale, sliced into 1/2-inch ribbons (about 1 packed cup)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
- 1 small carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 large flour tortillas
- 4 cups shredded Colby Jack or Monterey Jack cheese
- Salsa, homemade or store-bought
- Guacamole, homemade or store-bought
Preparation
1.Heat the olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes and season them with salt, black pepper and the red pepper flakes. Sauté the sweet potatoes for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften and slightly char. Add the rest of the vegetables and continue to sauté until the carrots are soft and the kale has wilted; add a little water if the mixture is looking dry. Season everything with salt and pepper to taste and remove from the heat.
2.Either free up the cast-iron skillet by removing the vegetables to a medium bowl or put another cast-iron skillet on the stove. Place 1 tortilla at a time into the skillet. Sprinkle 1 cup of the shredded cheese on the tortilla. Spoon 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the vegetable mixture on top of the cheese and turn the heat to medium. Allow the cheese to melt for about 1 minute and then fold the tortilla in half. Continue to cook the quesadilla until one side is golden brown and then flip and cook until the other side is equally golden.
3.Remove the quesadilla from the pan and cut it into thirds. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and fillings. Serve with salsa and guacamole.
