Avocado quesadillas with pickled onions

Quesadillas are an open palate for creativity and should never be boring and plain, as we most commonly find. I love them stuffed with cheese but also with flavoured meats, vegetables, and beans that add so much more flavour. Here is a simple but delicious recipe.

The gooey cheese and the sliced avocado are perfect but bland. The pickled onion is what brings this quesadilla alive. Spicy, tart and pungent, they complement this dish, making the quesadilla a favourite. I served these with Mocha salsa, a robust salsa for additional pop and smoky flavours from the chipotle chillies. I could easily overeat these quesadillas, and I did.

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Ingredients:

4-5 corn or flour tortillas

Olive oil spray

8 oz. fresh mozzarella or queso oaxaqueño cheese, grated or sliced

1 avocado, pitted and thinly sliced

Pickled onions:

1 onion, thinly sliced

1-2 jalapeños or serrano chillies, minced

2-3 tablespoons cilantro, minced

1 tablespoon epazote, minced (optional)

Salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Juice of 1/2 lime

Mix all the ingredients for the pickled onions and allow them to marinate for at least 2 hours. Longer marination is always better. I tend to make the onions early in the morning when I have the quesadillas or dinner.

Oil one side of the tortilla with olive oil and lay it on a frying pan on low heat. Layer with the cheese. Top with the avocado slices and the pickled onions, leaving a 1-inch edge. Top with a second tortilla with the oiled surface on top.

Flip the tortilla every 1 minute till the tortillas are crisped on the outside and the cheese is completely melted.

Serve immediately with a robust salsa like the Mocha salsa.