After trying this Nigella recipe just once, I’ve decided that these will be one of my most frequently used “go to” meals when I am short of time and hungry. The hardest bit is grating the cheese, which if I am to be honest, I get my husband to do as I am too lazy. Just slapping this Mexican sandwich together and throwing it (not literally) in the pan or griddle is as far as you need to go.
I used two different kinds of meat fillings, one with chorizo (pan fried as it was raw) and one with triple smoked ham. Of course you could make it vegetarian and use a mashed bean mix spread over the tortilla.
I didn’t have any salsa to hand so I did what any Not Quite Mexican cook would do and made guacamole. Let me just say first off that my guacamole isn’t authentic by any means but it is really tasty if I can be immodest. The two are gorgeous together and as I tend to do when I am enjoying a meal, I ate more than my share.
Quesadillas
For each flour tortilla wrap (makes three triangles):
- 1 flour tortilla
- 30g thinly sliced cured ham
- 3 coin slices pickled green jalapeño peppers, from a jar
- 50g grated cheese
- 1 spring onion, finely sliced
- few leaves of coriander
- 1 tsp olive oil (not extra virgin)
- ready-made salsa or guacamole (see below), to serve
Method
1. Heat a ridged griddle pan.
2. Place the tortilla wrap on the counter in front of you and cover with the ham.
3. Over one half only, sprinkle the pickled jalapeño slices, grated cheese and chopped spring onion. Scatter over the coriander leaves over the top.
4. Carefully fold the tortilla wrap in half, that’s to say, fold the uncheese-topped half over the cheese so that you have a fat half moon.
5. Lift this up carefully and brush each side with oil before putting it onto the hot griddle, grill for a minute on each side
6. Using a steady hand and a wide fine spatula or fish slice, transfer the tortilla to a board or plate and cut into 3triangles. Eat with some salsa on the side. And please feel free to play with the fillings as you wish
Recipe by Nigella Lawson from Nigella Express
NQN’s Not Quite Guacamole
- 1 small avocado
- 1-2 tablespoons of lime juice
- 1-2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce
- very small pinch of salt
1. Scoop out avocado from shell and discard pip. Add 1 tablespoon of the lime juice and 1 tablespoon of the sweet chili sauce.
2. Taste and add other tablespoon of lime juice and sweet chili sauce if needed.
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9 Comments | Add your own
Hi Lorraine! The first thing that came to mind after I finished reading this was a Nigella Lawson quote (which I may have used before): “Not much can’t be improved by wedging it between two slices of bread”.. words to this effect. Or *tortilla’s* in this instance! Yummo… warmed stuff, melted stuff and crispy on the outside stuff, Mmm, Mmmm! Quesadilla’s are just too moreish for me. I’ve made quickie versions in my big sandwich press before. Love the photo’s and the idea of a chorizo filling!
Mmmm, I loooove quesadillas, they make a nice change to the average toasted cheese sandwich
quesadillas are a favorite of mine–so many possible varieties and so quick and easy! clearly, the addition of guacamole has made your quesadillas superior.
question: can one distinguish triple smoked ham from double smoked? why smoke it three times?
Oh NQN, see you always reading my mind. I was hopping to KFC this Saturday for their Popcorn Quesadilla version, but was sad to found out that they are not selling these again.
Reading this entry, now I know the real name for this food and planning to make one big batch next weekend at a friend’s house.
However, which one is the best tortilla brand package in supermarket? I tried one brand, a long time ago before and it make me feel sick because of the chemical smell. Is there any shop that selling these freshly baked?
I usually can’t be bothered to grate cheese either, so I just slice it half a cm thick and call it a day.
Hi Maria-Thanks! I was worried that the photos weren’t good enough. They looked so much nicer in real life. I agree, everything’s better between a tortilla!
Hi Ellie-Yep, although I love toasted cheese, toasted quesadillas certainly give it a run for its money!
Hi grace- the guacamole was a surprise addition that worked. Nigella suggested salsa but shock I am not a huge salsa fan so we rarely have it. I much prefer the creaminess of the guacamole
Hehe the triple smoked ham was so much nicer than the other hams that I tried. I didn’t expect to taste that much of a difference (I mean double, triple, are we splitting hairs?) but I have to say I’d definitely go triple smoked again!
Hi Lilia-making one big batch would be delicious and if it’s for guests, you can make them up a little ahead of time if there are no wet ingredients and fry two turned over halves at a time.
In terms of taste, I tasted one that I didn’t like by Diego’s but that was more because they were stiff and tasteless. I don’t know of any Mexican grocery places that sell fresh ones here in Sydney. I usually buy supermarket ones and the usual Old El Paso seems to work for me. Perhaps making them fresh might be the go although I’ve never seen a recipe? You’d definitely avoid the chemical smell.
Hi Brittany-Hehe yes if my husband weren’t designated cheese grater then it would be that for me!
Those look gorgeously good! And I’m so glad my friend just bought me a Nigella Express cookbook!
A question though, where do you buy your green jalapeño peppers? I don’t seem to recall seeing these when shopping around Sydney -we don’t have all that many Mexican ingredents, from my experience.
Hi Jenny-Thankyou!
You’ll have so much fun with that cookbook. it’s great 
Old El Paso has them in a jar on the shelf (although they were sold out a couple of times that I looked).
Hi NQN, I saw this Mexican dinner program on tv of NL and it all looks so easy and I am going to cook it at the w/end. My family love Mexican….I love margaritas especially. I use ready made salsa and guacamole when I am in a hurry and they r pretty good. I will try chorizo next time in my quesadilla, good idea! I am going to make mine with prosciutto and the kids like bacon, why not? anything u fancy really….photos looks yummy
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