Miss Congeniality: Mushroom Chipotle Quesadillas

If you want a dish that will charm the socks/pants off your friends/significant others, this might be the one.  It is not the fanciest thing you’ve ever seen, but it’s also not the humblest.  But I believe it might be one of the tastiest I’ve ever come across.

Over the past week I made dinner for folks on three separate occasions, and served this dish each time.  Every time I did, I got the same response: “I need the recipe for this; I want to make it again.”

In fact, I’ve gotten that response I think about 99% of the time I’ve made this.  This dish, Mushroom Chipotle Quesadillas, would appear to have near-universal appeal. 

The dish is from Mexican Light by Martha Rose Shulman.

This is the cookbook I have owned the longest, and next to Joy of Cooking, it’s the one that’s gotten the most beat-up.  At this point, the hardcover is basically just a folder for the loose pages that have been cracked out of the binding.

I don’t know how authentic the recipes in the book are – I’ve read one review that quibbled they weren’t – but quite frankly I don’t really give a care.  They’re tasty. 

Sometimes a cookbook has a couple good recipes, sometimes you buy one with high hopes only to discover your palate and the author’s are very different, but every once in a while, you find a cookbook that’s like your favorite food friend.  You like what they have to say, they like the same flavors and textures as you, you always have a good time when you hang out.  That’s Mexican Light for me.

Shulman got on my good side right off the bat by including both nutritional information and “Advanced Preparation” notes (i.e., what can you do ahead of time and not compromise the flavor).  I do not understand why every cookbook doesn’t tell you this and the freezability of the finished product.  Cookbooks that do are the ones that I – as a single person often cooking for one – return to frequently.

And although her goal is to lighten up the recipes, Shulman seems to grasp the one concept many light or vegetarian authors do not: umami.  (Mexican Light isn’t vegetarian, but relatively easy to cook from if you are.)

I think my this point, everyone knows what umami is, but in case you don’t, helpful Wikipedia sez: “Japanese word meaning ‘savory’ or ‘deliciousness’ and thus applies to the sensation of savoriness, specifically to the detection of the natural amino acid, glutamic acid, or glutamates common in meats, cheese and other protein-heavy foods. The action of umami receptors explains why foods treated with monosodium glutamate (MSG) often taste ‘heartier’.”

Without that, I’ve found many vegetarian/light recipes are unsatisfying and feel incomplete.  But with Shulmans, I never feel like it’s lacking.

Of course, it’s a slam dunk for umami with the mushrooms used in the quesadilla, but add to that the million other delicious things happening in the dish and you, again, can win friends and influence people.  Seriously, it’s like every awesome ingredient in the world is including in this dish and they all blend together into a thick goop of deliciousness.  Nummers.

So this is a version of the recipe I’ve created – it’s still all basically her thing,  just have streamlined it a little and made the end quantity much greater – trust me, you’ll thank me for it.  The other great thing about this dish is that the mushroom part is totally freezable, and all the ingredients can be kept in your pantry.  So you can a) make it from scratch almost any time or b) make a bunch and freeze it for later.  Just grab some cheese and tortillas from the store and you’re ready to go.  (Because Shulman's book is focused on light cooking, she has a quesadilla method that is less fatty that usual shredded cheese process, but I don't make it often enough to do it that way.)

But don’t let my providing this recipe make you think you don’t need the book.  If you like Mexican, try to do lighter-style cooking and enjoy strong, bright, yet hearty dishes, you will not be disappointed.  It’s worth the price for the lime-based Mexican Sangria alone.  (Drools on keyboard.)

Click through for recipe.

Mushroom Chipotle Quesadillas

makes about 8 servings of topping

Ingredients

• 4 Tbls. olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 lb mushrooms, sliced thinly (oyster or button if you prefer milder mushroom flavor or crimini, shiitake or portobello if you like a heartier mushroom flavor)
• Salt to taste
• ¾ C. Beaujolais, Cotes-du-Rhone Zin or Gamay wine (dry fruity)*
• ½ C. sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil, dried-dried kind, reconstituted in hot water and drained and sliced – measure the ½ C.while they are still dry)
• 2-4 canned chipotles en adobo, minced (quantity depending on tolerance for heat, seeded for less spice, but include some of the sauce they came in)**
• 2 tsp. dried Mexican oregano***
• 8 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 28-oz can of organic diced tomatoes, with some but not all of juice drained
• Shredded jack, jalapeno jack or other goody melty cheese
• Tortillas (whatever kind you prefer)

Process

• Heat the oil in a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat and add the onion. 
• Cook onion about five minutes, stirring, until softened.
• Add mushrooms, sprinkle with salt; cook at medium-high heat until they begin to release liquid (5-10 minutes).
• Add wine, sun-dried tomatoes, chipotles and oregano.
• Turn heat down to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is almost gone.
• Add garlic, stir together for about a minute, until garlic begins to color.
• Add diced tomatoes, bring to simmer.
• Simmer for 15 minutes until the tomatoes cook down and the mixture becomes thick and irresistibly delicious.
• In a dry skillet over medium heat, heat a tortilla topped with your preferred amount of shredded cheese. 
• Once cheese is melted, top quesadilla with a big scoop of mushroom mixture, serve and accept the compliments.

*Not a big wine drinker, like I used to not be?  Wondering what to do with the rest of that bottle of red?  Well, consider buying the book and making the Mexican Sangria – which calls for precisely that kind of wine.  OR – put the bottle in the freezer.  I learned from a sommelier that as long as about a glass has been removed, you can safely freeze wine in the bottle, without losing too much quality, especially for cooking.
**You can also freeze chipotle en adobo, since you likely won’t use up a whole can when you open it. You can put 2-4 peppers in a freezer bag (include some of sauce), and just unthaw for next time you make the quesadillas or another dish.  Some folks puree the peppers and the sauce in a food processor and then freeze the puree in ice cube trays (you might have to dedicate a tray to it cuz the pepper is strong and will stain).  One ice cube is about one pepper.  Keep in mind these won’t be seeded so will be spicier.
***You can find the Mexican oregano in the Hispanic food section of most grocery stores.  You can also use it to make the universe’s best spiced nuts.