16 Apr Hearty Greens & Potato Quesadillas
Looking for a way to use leftover cooked potatoes? Here's a delicious and easy recipe using fresh greens and Durant Olive Oils for a quick weeknight meal. Recipe courtesy of Chefs Eric and Sara, Culinary Directors for Durant at Red Ridge Farms.
Preheat your 6 quart pan to medium heat. Brown and crisp leftover potatoes in bit of Durant EVOO. Set aside.
Cut the onion into julienne strips and add to the pan with 3 Tbs oil. Cook until wilted, then reduce heat to medium-low to caramelize. Remember to go low and slow to get the sweetest onions possible (I use my lodge enameled dutch oven for the onions and greens).
Once onions are caramelized, add chopped greens, red wine vinegar, water and salt and cook covered until greens are soft. Stir periodically and add more water if necessary. (Kale took about 20 min and collards will take longer.)
Once the greens are tender, reduce the liquid until almost dry, like a nice glaze in the greens, then set aside.
To assemble the quesadilla, preheat a cast iron pan or griddle to medium-low heat. Drizzle tortilla with Durant Jalapeño Fused Olive Oil and place a tortilla in the pan. Add greens, potato, salsa and top with cheese. (Don’t overload the tortilla, just a light smattering of toppings.) Place another tortilla on top.
The bottom tortilla will shrink a little, when it is a nice golden brown flip it and add more oil to the pan. The cheese has a tendency to leak out, but this is a good indicator of how crisp the tortilla is. I like to get my cheese nice crispy-brown at the edge.
Once both sides are brown and crispy, remove from the pan and let the quesadilla rest on a cooling rack. The air flow underneath allows it to cool and stay crispy.
In a cast iron pan on medium-high heat, add 3 Tbs oil to the pan then the diced potatoes. Cook while covered about 10 min, letting the natural water from the potato steam. Uncover the potatoes to start the caramelization process for crispy, golden brown potatoes, stirring no more than once every 5 min. About 20 min will give you nice browned crispy potatoes.
As working chefs we are around and tasting rich foods all the time. When it comes time to feed ourselves, we prefer quick easy snack-like foods, many times the best way to do this is by transforming leftovers. In this case, potatoes and cooked hardy greens become everyone's favorite—Quesadillas! So, if we have cooked greens with potatoes for dinner one night and there is only a little bit leftover, that is perfect for a quick and easy dinner the next night. We are always trying to get more leafy dark greens into our diet and this is an easy way to do that. The potatoes also give a nice creaminess to balance the sweet tangy greens. This could also be a great healthy breakfast, or afternoon snack. This gluten free recipe can be adapted in so many ways-remove the cheese and it’s vegan. Had chicken with your potatoes and greens the night before? shred that and add it for more hardiness. And, like always, the simpler the recipe the more important to have high quality ingredients. Investing in a good red wine vinegar will really take this up a notch.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat your 6 quart pan to medium heat. Brown and crisp leftover potatoes in bit of Durant EVOO. Set aside.
Cut the onion into julienne strips and add to the pan with 3 Tbs oil. Cook until wilted, then reduce heat to medium-low to caramelize. Remember to go low and slow to get the sweetest onions possible (I use my lodge enameled dutch oven for the onions and greens).
Once onions are caramelized, add chopped greens, red wine vinegar, water and salt and cook covered until greens are soft. Stir periodically and add more water if necessary. (Kale took about 20 min and collards will take longer.)
Once the greens are tender, reduce the liquid until almost dry, like a nice glaze in the greens, then set aside.
To assemble the quesadilla, preheat a cast iron pan or griddle to medium-low heat. Drizzle tortilla with Durant Jalapeño Fused Olive Oil and place a tortilla in the pan. Add greens, potato, salsa and top with cheese. (Don’t overload the tortilla, just a light smattering of toppings.) Place another tortilla on top.
The bottom tortilla will shrink a little, when it is a nice golden brown flip it and add more oil to the pan. The cheese has a tendency to leak out, but this is a good indicator of how crisp the tortilla is. I like to get my cheese nice crispy-brown at the edge.
Once both sides are brown and crispy, remove from the pan and let the quesadilla rest on a cooling rack. The air flow underneath allows it to cool and stay crispy.
In a cast iron pan on medium-high heat, add 3 Tbs oil to the pan then the diced potatoes. Cook while covered about 10 min, letting the natural water from the potato steam. Uncover the potatoes to start the caramelization process for crispy, golden brown potatoes, stirring no more than once every 5 min. About 20 min will give you nice browned crispy potatoes.
As working chefs we are around and tasting rich foods all the time. When it comes time to feed ourselves, we prefer quick easy snack-like foods, many times the best way to do this is by transforming leftovers. In this case, potatoes and cooked hardy greens become everyone's favorite—Quesadillas! So, if we have cooked greens with potatoes for dinner one night and there is only a little bit leftover, that is perfect for a quick and easy dinner the next night. We are always trying to get more leafy dark greens into our diet and this is an easy way to do that. The potatoes also give a nice creaminess to balance the sweet tangy greens. This could also be a great healthy breakfast, or afternoon snack. This gluten free recipe can be adapted in so many ways-remove the cheese and it’s vegan. Had chicken with your potatoes and greens the night before? shred that and add it for more hardiness. And, like always, the simpler the recipe the more important to have high quality ingredients. Investing in a good red wine vinegar will really take this up a notch.