One of my first posts on ThreeManyCooks was for a simple basil pesto. Three years ago I thought making your own pesto was newsworthy (everyone has to start somewhere, right?). But now, I’ve seen pesto made with everything from kale and walnuts to mint and corn. Lesson learned: you can basically make pesto out of anything so long as it fits in the blender and tastes good with oil, salt, and some kind of nut. Cheese optional.
Earlier this summer, when cilantro started coming by the bunches, I started making cilantro pesto by the batches. One of my favorite ways to use it is in main course quesadillas. You can add whatever you like, but a family favorite are these hominy and pepper jack quesadillas.
Hominy and Pepper Jack Quesadillas
by: Three Many Cooks
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Cilantro Pesto
- 8 medium (8 inch) flour tortillas (whole grain is nice)
- 8 ounces pepper Jack cheese
- 1 can (15 ounces) hominy, drained
Instructions
- Make Cilantro Pesto; set aside. Set a griddle over two burners set over low heat while assembling quesadillas; a couple of minutes from cooking increase heat to medium-high.
- Place 4 of the flour tortillas on a work surface. Sprinkle a portion of half the cheese over each tortilla. Scatter hominy over cheese, and drizzle with pesto to taste. Sprinkle each with a portion of the remaining cheese; top with remaining tortillas.
- Working two at a time, cook quesadillas until crisp and spotty brown on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook until spotty brown on remaining side, about 2 minutes longer. Cut into triangles and serve.
Notes
We used Chipotle Gouda, a new flavor by Boar’s Head that we found in the cheese case. If you can’t find it, any pepper jack-style cheese is fine.
Tis the season of fresh corn on the cob — have you tried using fresh corn instead of hominy?
Hey Betty, I get more corn in my CSA than I know what to do with. Was taking a break with the hominy, haha! But corn is really one of my favorite summer treats 🙂
I love this! I love that you included a recipe for homemade pesto! And I bet it goes great with the pepper Jack cheese. We’d love for you to submit a similar recipe to The Search for the Ultimate Weeknight Meal, offering a grand-prize to one lucky blogger who will tape a segment to air on national TV! If you’re interested, check out our contest page for more details. http://www.mrfood.com/Editors-Picks/Search-for-Ultimate-Weeknight-Meal-Blogger-Contest