Busily
editing new recipe photos and juggling 4,000 other balls today, I’m
bringing this, one of my absolute favorite dishes of all time, to the
front for those of you who might have missed it the first time.
Seriously simple…and so darn delicious! –PW
I have a slight problem when it comes to quesadillas of any kind. The
problem is that I pretty much want to eat them all the time. All the
all the all the time. It was my number one craving during all four of my
pregnancies, and there’s no limit to the different combinations and
permutations of fillings I’ll try.
My quesadilla addiction began in Los Angeles in the late eighties, by
the way. Ever have a quesadilla at Del Taco in the late eighties? Then
you haven’t lived. Forget these modern-day fast food incarnations of
quesadillas where they put—gasp—some kind of spicy CREAMY mixture
inside? Sacrilege! The Del Taco quesadillas in the late eighties (I
haven’t been there for awhile, so I can’t speak for today. Does Del Taco
even exist anymore?) were so pure. Cheese, grilled onions, and green
chilies. That’s it. I used to eat them till I bloated, then I’d go back
and get some more. Then I’d call my mom and say, “MOM! Someone must have vandalized my Guess jeans because they won’t zip anymore! Please send money!”
Then she’d tell me to step away from Del Taco.
Anyway, I’m back in 2009. And I’m making shrimp quesadillas today!
They’re delicious. Wonderful. Glorious. You need them in your life.
You need raw deveined shrimp. Rinsed clean.
You also need an onion…
A green bell pepper…
And a red bell pepper.
You’ll
need a little Mexican red sauce, enchilada sauce, taco sauce…whatever
you can get your hands on. How spicy you go depends on how spicy you
like it! 
You’ll need Monterey Jack cheese. It’s one of the best for quesadillas. 
Grate it up!
And you can use a little of some other kinds of cheese if you’d like. Colby/Jack, Pepper Jack—whatever makes your skirt fly up!
Whatever cheeses you use, just combine them all in a bowl so it’s one gigantic mish mash of deliciousness.
Peel the shrimp and remove the tails, then place them on a plate. Pour the red sauce over the top.
Just set ’em aside while you get everything else ready.
Next, cut the onion in half…
Then cut off the top, peel off the outer papery layer, and make a single slice down the middle of each half.
Make slices in the other direction to create large, thick slices. 
Do the same with the green bell pepper…
And the red one.
Grab a heavy skillet and put it over high high high high heat.
Make sure that skillet is HOT. (And either open a window or crank up that ventilation.)
Then drizzle in a good two tablespoons of olive oil.
Swirl
the pan to coat it, then throw in the vegetables. Let them sit without
stirring for a good minute—what we want to do is cook the heck out of
them in a short amount of time, so they get brownish/blackish/flavorful
without getting too cooked and mushy.
Stir them after a minute or so, then let them sit on the high heat until they’re nice and brown. 
Remove them from the skillet and set aside.
Your kitchen smells delicious, by the way!
Keep
the skillet on high heat, then pour in the shrimp, the sauce, and all!
Just as you did with the onions and peppers, don’t stir right off the
bat. Just let ’em cook. 
Stir ’em around a minute or two later.
Cook the little shrimpies until they’re opaque, then turn off the heat.
Then throw ’em on a cutting board…
…And chop ’em up into smaller pieces. 
Yum! Shrimp!
Separate skillet: medium heat. Swirl plenty of melted butter all around.
Throw a flour tortilla right on top of the butter.
The worst quesadilla atrocity you can commit is to allow the tortilla to get totally dry on the outside.
Blech.
Throw on a nice layer of cheese, then a generous amount of peppers and shrimpies.
Sprinkle on a little more cheese for good measure…
Then plop a second tortilla on the top.
Before you flip it to the other side, add more butter to the skillet.
Press down with the spatula after you flip it.
This is how I like a quesadilla—crispy, flavorful outside; cheesy, delicious inside.
Cut the quesadilla into four wedges.
Mmmm. Delicious!
Serve on a plate with whatever you’d like: rice, beans, salad, or just a little bowl of tomatillo salsa.
Honestly, the quesadillas are so filling, rice and beans are unnecessary! 
Here’s
a closer examination of what happens inside. You’ll see that the shrimp
actually share a little of their red sauce with the melted cheese—this
is exactly what you want. If we’d just grilled the shrimp and put them
in there plain, well…they still would have been delicious. But drowning
them in red sauce before we cooked them just adds a little something
special.
These are great football appetizers, awesome party food, or a great Wednesday night meal.
Make them soon!
Recipe
Quesadillas de Camarones
- Prep Time:
- 15 Minutes
- Difficulty:
- Easy
- Cook Time:
- 20 Minutes
- Servings:
- 6 Servings
- Flour Tortillas
- 12 whole Large Shrimp, Peeled And Deveined
- 8 ounces, fluid Mexican Red Sauce
- 1 whole Large Onion
- 1 whole Red Bell Pepper
- 1 whole Green Bell Pepper
- 2 cups Cheese, Grated (Monterey Jack Is Best)
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- Salt To Taste
Pour red sauce over shrimp. Set aside.
Chop vegetables into large pieces. Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Return skillet to high heat, then dump in the shrimp with the sauce. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Add in a little water if the sauce gets dry. Remove from skillet and chop into bite-size pieces.
In a separate skillet, heat butter. Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp. Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla. Cook on both sides, adding butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla isn’t overly dry.
Remove from skillet and slice into wedges. Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!
Chop vegetables into large pieces. Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Return skillet to high heat, then dump in the shrimp with the sauce. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Add in a little water if the sauce gets dry. Remove from skillet and chop into bite-size pieces.
In a separate skillet, heat butter. Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp. Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla. Cook on both sides, adding butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla isn’t overly dry.
Remove from skillet and slice into wedges. Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!
