Sauté zucchini until it becomes jammy, fold it into melty Monterey Jack, and fry between corn tortillas for crisply browned, messy, irresistible quesadillas.
Sure, it’s only been one month since I wrote “I don’t find summer squash naturally loveable. Its flavor is not robust—fairly watery when fresh, slippery when cooked, and even when you do succeed in browning or crisping it, this textural triumph is short-lived.” But I never meant that I avoid it. Just because it may not be the most popular vegetable at the party doesn’t mean that it cannot flourish under the right conditions (salt, pepper, acidity, heat, herbs, and cheese — please). Conveniently, I almost always have these conditions in stock.
Lately, my favorite approach has been to cook it with garlic in olive oil for about 15 minutes, at which point it becomes jammy — fully tender with concentrated flavors and excellent seasoning. Once you have a skillet of this, zucchini is your oyster. Maybe you fold it into an omelet with goat cheese and herbs? Maybe you mix it with big pasta, parmesan, basil leaves, and lemon? But last week, I mixed it with grated Monterey jack cheese and cooked it between two white corn tortillas until they were browned and crisp and it turns out, this might be my favorite use of it yet.
I had planned to finish them with a punchy, herby sauce with jalapeño, cilantro, garlic, olive oil, salt, and maybe lime but then I decided, well, I didn’t want to do that. I’m sure the contrast would be lovely. Quesadillas risk being a little one-note without some acidity, you know? But the reality is that when you have a plate of warm, bronzed quesadillas with messy lacy brown edges that have formed when the melted cheese lands on and crisps in the pan ready to be eaten and the mouths nearby to happily volunteer for this service, nobody wants to make a sauce. So instead, they were scattered with jalapeño, cilantro, avocado, and lime juice and devoured before they were getting cold, always a triumph. I hope you don’t wait to get to them, either.
This just in: Hey, have you ever wondered what A Work Week In The Life Of Smitten Kitchen is like? Like, behind the scenes? This just went up online (I think it will be in Sunday’s paper), and I’d be remiss not to share it in the place where it all began.
Servings | Time | |
|---|---|---|
6 quesadillas (serves ~4 with salad) | 35 minutes |
Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
Olive oil | 3 tablespoons, plus more for frying |
Garlic | 2–3 cloves, thinly sliced |
Mild or hotter red pepper flakes | 1/2 teaspoon (Aleppo recommended) |
Zucchini or slim summer squash | 1½ pounds, halved and thinly sliced |
Kosher salt | to taste (recipe uses 1 tsp then ~½ tsp more) |
Lime | 1, halved |
Monterey Jack cheese, grated | 6 ounces |
Corn tortillas | 12 (6-inch) |
For finishing: sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, thinly sliced jalapeño, additional lime | as desired |
Heat a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the sliced garlic and cook, stirring, until just golden at the edges, about 1 minute. Add the zucchini, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and the red pepper flakes, then increase heat to medium-high. Cook, turning occasionally, until the slices soften and begin to break down, about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat slightly and continue cooking 7–10 minutes more, until the zucchini becomes jammy and very tender. Taste and adjust seasoning — the author needed about 1/2 teaspoon more salt. Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the mixture, scrape it into a wide bowl, and let it cool slightly.
Add the grated Monterey Jack to the zucchini and mix to combine. Lay out 6 tortillas and divide the filling among them, spreading it to the edges. Top each with a second tortilla.
Heat a skillet (nonstick preferred) over medium and add a couple teaspoons of oil. Cook assembled quesadillas until deeply golden and crisp underneath; allow any melted cheese that seeps out to crisp in the pan. Flip and brown the second side. Try to keep the lacy browned cheese attached when you lift the finished quesadilla from the pan. Squeeze the remaining lime half over the finished quesadillas.
Serve halved or cut into wedges, with avocado, cilantro, jalapeño and extra lime wedges.
Tip | |
|---|---|
Cook zucchini slowly until jammy — about 15 minutes total (5 min then another 7–10 min). | “cook, turning over occasionally, until zucchini becomes soft… Reduce heat slightly and cook 7 to 10 minutes more, at which point the zucchini will be jammy.” |
Squeeze lime into the cooked zucchini for brightness. | “Add the juice of half your lime and scrape mixture into a wide bowl.” |
Mix grated cheese into the cooled zucchini before assembling to distribute melting cheese. | “Add cheese to zucchini mixture and mix.” |
Use a nonstick skillet and a little oil; let any cheese that leaks crisp for lacy browned edges. | “I prefer a nonstick for these quesadillas… letting whatever cheese seeps out cook and crisp in the pan.” |
Finish with simple toppings — avocado, cilantro, jalapeño and extra lime — instead of a sauce. | “they were scattered with jalapeño, cilantro, avocado, and lime juice and devoured…” |
