A Mediterranean Twist on Quesadillas with Salsa and Sour Cream
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Did you know I like this little cheese called goat cheese? Probably not. I mean, it’s not like I *ever* post recipes about it or anything like that…
I know that most people (myself included) think of quesadillas as Mexican, but it’s nice to switch up the filling or accompaniments every once in a while to create something different. I was feeling Mediterranean food one night, and was originally going to make myself a grilled chicken salad, but that sounded boring. Then I was thinking a tahini yogurt dressing would be slightly less boring, but I didn’t have any pitas (and I love my carbs). I remembered I had these tortillas sitting in my freezer, and decided I would do a spin on quesadillas with salsa and sour cream.
The quesadillas are filled very simply with chicken breast and goat cheese. The salsa is a cucumber-tomato-olive-onion relish with a really simple-and-not-too-liquidy olive oil and balsamic dressing. You can cut the cucumbers and tomatoes into a smaller dice to make this more salsa-like, but I didn’t really have the patience that night. The sour cream is a tahini-yogurt sauce that I like on pretty much everything.
These are a bit sloppy to eat (and cutting the relish into a smaller dice would help), but they are delicious. The flavors are pretty simple but they play off each other well, and the relish and tahini sauce are so cool and refreshing. This is a great twist on your standard quesadilla, without being much more time consuming or difficult to make.
Mediterranean Quesadillas
Serves 4
2 small or medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup diced cucumber (I don’t bother peeling)
6-8 large kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. tahini
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 large clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
1 large chicken breast (about 8-10 oz.), cooked and shredded or cubed (I just seasoned mine with salt, pepper, oregano and cooked it on the stove in a little olive oil)
4 oz. goat cheese
4 large flour tortillas
a little olive oil for toasting tortillas
To make the tomato-cucumber relish, mix together the first 7 ingredients (through oil) and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
To make the yogurt-tahini sauce, mix together the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add a little olive oil to the skillet, or brush the tortillas lightly with oil. Divide the chicken and goat cheese between two tortillas. Place the remaining two tortillas on top, to form a quesadilla. Add the quesadillas to the pan, one at a time, cooking until golden brown on one side. Flip and cook until golden brown on the remaining side. Cut the quesadillas into wedges and serve with the tomato-cucumber relish and tahini-yogurt sauce.
Love, love, love this…as someone who enjoys Mexican food but LOVES Mediterranean, this is perfect for me 🙂
Btw will you be participating in the 2nd Annual O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Contest at my blog and at Ms Adventures in Italy again this year? You have until Sept 28th to come up with a fab O recipe…and there are prizes including signed copies of Gina DePalma’s Dolce Italiano and Mario Batali’s Molto Italiano 😀
If you can’t participate, feel free to spread the word–there’s a prize for that too!
Well Elly, I am so with you on the goat cheese love! And I really love these “fusion” quesadillas!
I love this Mediterranean twist on quesadillas. Who said there were any rules? Go for it! I think the flavours and ingredients really complement each other.
I like your version…and you are right, most of the time quesadillas means Mexican style…your twist to Mediterranean quesadilla looks yummie 😉
What a great mix of ingredients! I love new twists on quesadillas 🙂
DElicious Elly! Very creative indeed.
What a creative idea! I love this twist on quesadillas! Yum!
This sounds like a great combo. And I don’t judge your goat cheesey ways at all 🙂 I think most savory dishes are better with goat cheese! Yum!
Great combo Elly and whenever I get tortillas I always use what I have at home to use them and they are always delicious. I use katiki domokou instead of sour cream.
What a great take on quesadillas! They look and sound so good!
Very creative, these sound great! I’m with you on the goat cheese 🙂