With tortillas you can make nearly anything
In the book, “101 Things To Do With a Tortilla,” authors Stephanie Ashcraftand Donna Kelly go beyond typical Mexican fare and offer recipes that can open your eyes to the versatile nature of tortillas.
Consider some of these twists: smoke salmon triangles, tortilla sushi rolls, creamy fruit roll-ups.
How about coated tortilla French toast? Or upside-down apple pie made from tortillas?
The tortilla is indeed a flexible food.
We showcase this fact with a recipe for potato “dosadillas,” a vegetarian dish that combines the tortilla from Mexico and the dosa, a popular spicy snack from India.
But for the sake of authenticity and to help you celebrate Cinco de Mayo in style, we also offer a more traditional recipe for quesadilla, straight from the kitchen of De Leon Foods.
Potato ‘Dosadillas’
From “Quick-Fix Vegetarian” by Robin Robertson
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced scallions or onions
2 cups mashed potatoes
½ cup frozen baby peas, thawed
1 ½ teaspoons curry paste or powder, plus additional to taste
4 large whole wheat tortillas
Heat the oil in a small skillet.
Add the scallions and cook until softened. Add the potatoes, peas and curry paste and cook until well mixed and hot. If you like spicy food, add a little more curry to taste.
Divide the mixture evenly over half of each of the tortillas.
Fold the tortillas over and place them, two at a time, in a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat.
Cook, turning once, until lightly browned on both sides.
Keep them warm while you cook the remaining dosadillas. Serve them whole to be cut with a knife and fork, or cut them into wedges.
Yield: 4 servings
Approximate nutrition per serving: 230 calories, 8.5 grams fat (3.5 grams saturated, 29 percent fat calories), 6 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams dietary fiber, 500 milligrams sodium.
Carne Asada Quesadilla
From De Leon Foods in Spokane
Two 8 inch flour tortillas
¼ cup cheddar cheese
1 pound carne asada meat, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon Chef Merito Asada seasoning
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 jalapeno (sliced)
1 orange (sliced)
2 tablespoons cilantro (grated)
sour cream
pico de gallo (chopped onion, tomato, cilantro and jalapeno pepper)
Season meat with Chef Merito seasoning mix and combine with lime juice, jalapeno, orange and cilantro. Marinate for at least an hour.
Brown the meat in a skillet.
Place one flour tortilla on a nonstick skillet or griddle pan.
Top with cheese and cooked meat on one side, then place the other tortilla on top.
Grill both sides until golden brown. Cut into four pieces and top with sour cream and pico de gallo.
Yield: 4 servings
Approximate nutrition per serving: (without sour cream or pico): 460 calories, 24 grams fat (9 grams saturated, 49 percent fat calories), 39 grams protein, 18 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram dietary fiber, 1100 milligrams sodium.