Sometimes I look in the fridge and realize that I am straight up vegetable crazy! I go to make dinner and I’m met with a fridge stocked to the gills with veggies and cheese, but not much else. Time to get creative! I had some beautiful little patty pans (the UFO looking baby squash) and shiitakes as well as some staples we always have year-round like avocados and cherry tomatoes (it’s a rough life in this climate;). You really can’t go wrong with a quesadilla but this mash-up recipe was much more impressive than I had imagined and now we’ll be making it all the time! Necessity (and hunger) is the mother of all invention!
This recipe is chock full of veggies and healthy fats. You can adjust the amount of cheese to your liking and using non-fat yogurt instead of sour cream is a much healthier alternative and tastes just as good if not better! It is lighter health-wise but certainly not in flavor! The shiitakes add an incredible steak-like quality to the quesadilla making for a exceptionally “meaty” vegetarian meal. Good quality, firm shiitakes are key here. If you have an asian market nearby they are usually THE place to find large, firm, hearty shiitakes for shockingly reasonable prices. Shiitake mushrooms are ridiculously good for you, often referred to as medicinal mushrooms because they boost the immune system, help protect the heart, and have an astonishing amount of bioavailable iron. What’s not to love?!
- 3 small patty pan summer squashes, sliced into matchsticks
- 4 large shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- ½ red onion, sliced thin
- 1 Tablespoon+ smashed garlic
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 2 sprouted grain tortillas (I like Ezekiel brand) OR large corn tortillas to make it gluten-free
- ½ cup grated cheese, I use half extra sharp cheddar and half dubliner
- large handful cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- large handful cherry tomatoes, halved
- plain yogurt, to drizzle
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet and sauté onion and garlic until fragrant.
- Add squash and mushrooms and sauté until fork tender.
- Season will salt and pepper.
- In another heated skillet on low-medium heat, layer a tortilla then half of the cheese, all of the squash mixture and then the rest of the cheese and top tortilla.
- Heat quesadilla until most of the cheese is melted, then flip and heat the other side.
- Plate quesadilla, cut into squares and top generously with cilantro, avocado, tomatoes and yogurt.
food photographer, food photography, los angeles, crystal cartier
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