RECIPE · The Corn Dough Quesadilla Tutorial! Yummy quesadillas stuffed with two different fillings

Because, funny enough, a quesadilla doesn't necessarily imply cheese! They come in different shapes and have different fillings. They can be simply a pre-prepared tortilla folded in two, or you can make them from scratch using corn dough. These are usually way tastier and a lot of fun to cook.

Here's what you need:

For the Dough

• 250 gm Maseca Corn Flour (available here or here)
• Warm water
• Pinch of salt
• 30 gr lard (optional)

Grab a bowl and add the Maseca and salt. Add the lard (optional) and start mixing with your hands. Add the warm water very slowly, as you work the mixture into a soft dough. Keep adding the fluid until you get a smooth and moist dough. You'll know when it's ready because it'll stop sticking to your hands. The consistency should be very similar to Play-Doh. If the dough is too mushy, add some more Maseca until you achieve the right consistency. Cover with a damp cloth while you cook the fillings.

For Cooking the Quesadillas and the Fillings 

• Vegetable oil
• 1/4 of a small onion
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• Pinch of dried epazote (available here)
• 1 can of flor de calabaza -AKA zucchini flower or squash blossoms- (available here)
• 1 Medium Potato (peeled, boiled and mashed lightly)
• 100 gr Spanish chorizo

Mix the mashed potatoes with the chorizo and shallow fry until golden. 

Mix the Zucchini Flower with the diced tomatoes, epazote and onion. Shallow fry until it stops looking soggy.

Once both fillings are ready, it's time to 'sculpt' the quesadillas. This can be done entirely by hand and it's like playing with clay really. A)Tear a piece of dough and make it into a golf ball.  B) Then squeeze it between your hands  until you get a thickish circle about the size of a CD. It's OK if it turns out a bit smaller or if it's not perfectly round. C) Place about a spoonful of filling near the edge. Don't put too much or it will leak!  D) Close the quesadilla by pressing the edges gently together with your fingertips or with a fork (it looks a lot like a Cornish pasty actually!)  E)Shallow fry until golden on both sides.

A) B)

C) D)

E)

Makes about 10, sufficient for two people.

For serving

• 150 ml soured cream
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• Green or Guajillo salsa (optional)

Put a spoonful of soured cream on each, cover with  shredded lettuce and sprinke with parmesan cheese. For extra oomph, add Salsa Verde La Costeña (hot) or Salsa Guajillo Sabores Aztecas (nice and mild), both available here.

If you like it cheesy, you can add a little grated mozzarella along with the cooked fillings. It'll melt and mix nicely with the other ingredients while you shallow fry the quesadilla.


Even more quesadilla know-how!

Here's a very enlightening wikiarticle on the different types of quesadillas and the difference between genuine Mexican ones and the Americanised versions.

FOOD & DRINK REVIEW · £50 Worth of Authentic Mexican Ingredients from MexGrocer.co.uk

So this is what £50 worth of authentic Mexican looks like. Only available online, this little batch of goodness was bought off MexGrocer.co.uk 

MexGrocer was founded in 2006 and operated by Mestizo Restaurant since 2009. These guys really know their stuff. Not cheap, but delivery is free after fifty pounds, so we took a chance.

Our shopping list, from left to right and top to bottom:

• Flor de Calabaza (Courgette or Zucchinni  Flowers) - Yes, edible flowers! 
• La Costeña Salsa Verde (Green Salsa) - The next best thing after Sabores Aztecas Green Salsa
• Nopalitos (Tender Cactus Leaves) - Guess what, cactuses are also edible and real scrummy. 
• Maseca (Dried Corn Dough for Handmade Tortillas) - Self explanatory.
• Corn Husks for Tamales - A tamal is a fatty and fluffy lump made of corn dough, lard, spices and meat that is actually steam cooked inside a corn husk. 
• Liquid Achiote (Condiment/Marinade for Taco Meat) - Traditional seasoning from Yucatán in south east México.
• Rajas de Chile Problano (Sliced Poblano Peppers) 
• Cuitlacoche (Corn Truffle) - The consumption of corn smut originates from ancient Aztec cuisine and is still considered a delicacy in Mexico, even being preserved and sold for a significantly higher price than corn.
• Oaxacan Mole Paste
• Green Mole Paste
• Pipián Mole Paste
• Adobo Mole Paste

Think of mole (moe·lay) as some sort of Mexican "curry". It's made of dry chillies, nuts, seeds and spices with very rich flavours and eaten with chicken, pork or beef with a serving of savoury rice on the side. Only thing is, tortillas are served instead of naan bread!

• Small Plastic Traditional Molcajete (Mortar)
• Pozole Can (Hominy or maiz kernels for making a traditional soup or stew)

So far we are pleased with the price and a very speedy delivery. 

Recipes and advice on how and what to cook with these ingredients to follow!