Chorizo Quesadillas

 

Chorizo is a type of sausage....and oh how I love me sausage! It is highly seasoned, used in both Mexican and Spanish cuisine. Mexican chorizo is made with fresh pork (raw and uncooked) and is blended with vinegar and chili peppers. 

Spanish chorizo is made with garlic and smoked paprika. It is sold fully cooked (smoked) and dry...to be sliced like salami. Mexican and Spanish chorizo are not interchangeable. So make sure you are buying Mexican chorizo to make these quesadillas.

This is a very easy recipe to make and comes together in just minutes. To make it a complete meal, I like to serve quesadillas with fresh Pico de Gallo salsa and some Mexican rice. When I made this last night for Becky and I, I upped the Scoville units a bit by using two jalapeños. Becky moderated the heat by dipping the quesadillas in sour cream. They were delicious!

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound Mexican chorizo sausage 

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 fresh jalapeño pepper, finely chopped

4, 12-inch flour tortillas

2 cups shredded Monterey pepper jack cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large skillet until oil is shimmering. Then add sausage, onion, garlic and jalapeño and cook until meat is brown and onion is tender.
2. Lay out tortillas. Cover the lower half of each tortilla with 1/4 quarter of the meat mixture and a 1/2 cup of cheese.
3. Fold the empty top of the tortillas in half over the filled lower half and then cook each for 1-1/2 minutes per side (3 minutes total for each tortilla), using a skillet, grill pan or grill at medium-high heat. Then cut each tortilla into quarters and serve.

Pairing: Pacifico