Rogue Valley Quesadillas with Fruit Salsa

What sets this quesadilla recipe apart from the rest is the deliciously interesting flavor combinations ~ and the vibrant, sweet and spicy Fruit & Roasted Red Pepper Salsa.

The recipe is a take-off on my friend, Jain's Napa Valley Quesadillas:

http://onceinabluemooniris.blogspot.com/2008/09/long-day.html

I live in the Rogue Valley, another wine area a couple of hundred miles north of Napa Valley. In keeping with my personal challenge of trying to use local ingredients whenever possible, I adjusted the ingredients slightly and renamed my quesadillas to reflect this area.

I was pleased to use mostly all organic, local ingredients except the tropical mango, Parmesan and Tabasco sauce. Not bad!

Diced Mango, Nectarine, thinly sliced green onions, cilantro and freshly roasted red bell peppers are tossed with a few drops of Tabasco and a big squeeze of fresh lime juice for the delicious salsa. The sweet and spicy flavors play perfectly off of each other.

The filling for the quesadillas is a comprised of 3-cheeses: Parmesano Reggiano, Tillamook Cheddar, and a local Brie, with grilled, sliced chicken breast, and thinly sliced apple.

I made them in my large, old cast iron frying pan, with a minimum of canola oil. One tortilla is placed in the medium hot oil, then layered with the other ingredients and allowed to warm through, melting the cheeses while the tortillas become toasty and crisp.

I used the burrito size, thick flour tortillas (Gorditos).

First grated Parmesan Cheese is placed on the tortilla, and layered with the cheddar. As the tortilla warms up it will melt slowly. Then add the slices of chicken and Brie, broken into smaller pieces.

Another tortilla is placed on top, and pressed gently to compress the layers together to encourage even heating.

When the bottom is nicely golden brown and crisp, flip and allow the second side to take on a nice golden brown as well.

Remove from pan, allow to cool for just a moment, then cut into wedges and serve along with the fruit salsa, and additional fresh lime slices or wedges.

As a garnish, I added a couple of slices of jicama, edges dipped in lime juice, then smokey paprika for flavor and color.

And the apple and Brie make a nice snack with your favorie beverage while you're waiting for the Quesadillas!

Thank you Jain for a fabulous recipe ~ Even though I had to take some liberties with it, it was fantastic and one I'll make again and again.

Please go visit Jain's wonderful blog, she's an incredibly talented artist, in so many ways:

http://onceinabluemooniris.blogspot.com/

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