Receta Zucchini Quesadillas with Spicy Rioja Salsa
Food and Wine's Version As
I was working my way through last month’s Food and Wine, I came to an overhead
shot of a crispy, toasted tortilla topped with bright red chiles and cilantro
leaves. I was taken with the photo and I
was consumed by the recipe. It’s vegetarian so perfect for those meatless meals
I am trying to achieve at least once a week.
And I love a great Quesadilla, with the cheese oozing out the sides of
the tortilla and filled inside with any number of meaty ingredients like a tinga of puerco, pollo or carne.
This Quesadilla has none of those.
Instead it’s filled with a smoky flavored salsa made with roasted
tomatoes, onions and garlic, thin slices of zucchini and as much Monterrey Jack
cheese as you can stuff into it. It’s
pure Mexican street food but it was invented in a place that’s about un-Mexican
as anywhere in Los Angeles CA. It’s on Beverly Boulevard between Beverly Hills
and Hancock Park.
Chef Walter Manzke Of Petty Cash LA
Chef
Walter Manzke has been involved with food since his childhood in San Diego but
it was in neighboring Tijuana that he got much of his inspiration for Petty
Cash, which is referred to on their own website as a 'semi-authentic taqueria' (www.pettycashtaqueria.com). With his
partner Bill Chait and a whole kitchen full of authentic Mexican cooks, Chef
Manzke has created a menu of classic Mexican street food with a California twist. Everything is local, seasonal and sustainable.Petty Cash's Interior
The place itself is a
treat: Hand painted murals—even some
graffiti done by the kitchen staff—cover the walls. The dining area surrounds the bar with
communal picnic tables and benches. There’s even a back room with shuffleboard.
The name of the place, Petty Cash sounds like a fairly obvious sign that this
is wallet-friendly food. In fact, the
taqueria takes its name not from the cash drawer but a cover band of the same
name that confines their performances entirely to Johnny Cash and Tom Petty
covers. Don’t ask me why, because I could
not find an answer. The Chef must just enjoy the band. Petty Cash is at
7360 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90036. You can make reservations on www.opentable.com.
The Blender is best reserved for
the Margaritas recommended to be served
with your Quesadilla. On
the other hand, you could just stay home and produce Petty Cash’s Zucchini
Quesadilla all by yourself. First you
roast some tomatoes, garlic and an onion under the broiler. I cheated a bit here because I had an opened
container of Pomi Tomatoes and since the dish goes right into the blender, I
saw no reason not to use them. When the tomato season arrives however, I’d go
with the real deal and broil those instead. As to the chiles, arbols are easy to find,
Fresno chiles not so easy, but if you
have trouble, substitute the ubiquitous jalapeno. Also, the cooking instructions recommended
using a blender to make the Rioja Salsa.
I wish my blender had come through on this one but I would substitute a
Cuisinart in a second. A blender is
perfectly fine for pureeing but in this case there are 6 fairly woody chiles
that it has to grind up. Mine just
didn’t do it right. So I ended up with
two things to clean: A blender and a Cuisinart.
The rest of it is a snap. Just
slice your zucchini about 1/8 inch thick, put the slices on a tortilla that’s
in the cooking pan and cover that with lots of cheese. Spread the red salsa on
the other tortilla, and top that with the salsa covered one. The recipe called for cast iron. I was making
two of these and wanted to cook them at the same time so I used two non-stick
skillets. The dish emerged from them
perfectly browned. And here is the recipe.
Recipe for Petty Cash’s Zucchini Quesadilla with Spicy Salsa Rioja.
Active Time: 20 minutes. Total
Time: 45 Minutes. Makes 2 10 inch Quesadillas.
1 pound
tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 small
onion, peeled and quartered
6 dried
árbol chiles, stemmed
1
chipotle chile in adobo
2
- tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Kosher
- salt sprinkled over cheese and salsa rioja
- Two
- 10-inch flour tortillas
- 1/2 cup
- shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 2 small
- zucchinis, thinly sliced crosswise
- Chopped
- cilantro and thinly sliced Fresno chiles, for garnish
- Preheat the broiler. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the tomatoes,
- onion and garlic with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Broil 6 inches from the heat
- for 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes and onion are softened and nicely
charred.
In a skillet, toast the árbol chiles over moderately low heat,
stirring, until lightly charred, 3 minutes; transfer to a blender. Add the
broiled tomatoes, onion and garlic along with the chipotle chile, vinegar and
sugar and puree until smooth. Season the salsa roja with salt.
In a cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Place one
tortilla in the skillet and place the zucchini on top evenly. Top the zucchini with
half the cheese. Brush half the the salsa
roja over the second tortilla.
Cook over moderately high heat until crisp on the bottom, 3 minutes.
4.
Flip the
quesadilla, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon of canola oil, and cook until the
cheese is melted, 2 minutes. Repeat this process to make the second Quesadilla
or cook them in two skillets at the same time.
Slice the quesadilla into wedges, transfer to a plate, garnish with the cilantro
and Fresno chiles and serve.