Quesadilla Margherita

A late summer heat wave is keeping my kitchen too hot to do any real cooking, so I did a little culinary mashup and made "quesadillas margherita" for supper last night.  They were fast, easy, and satisfying, and I had everything I needed on hand:

Quesadilla Margherita

Makes 4

8 burrito-sized flour tortillas

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Freshly grated Romano cheese

4 fresh plum tomatoes

Fresh basil leaves

1 lb fresh mozzarella, cut into 12 slices

Dried Italian seasoning (optional)

Anchovy fillets (optional)

Preheat a 12- or 14-inch skillet over medium heat.  When the skillet is hot, add a tortilla and sprinkle it lightly with shredded mozzarella and grated Romano cheeses.  Slice a plum tomato, knock the seeds out of it, and arrange the slices on top of the cheeses.  Add fresh basil leaves to taste and add three slices of fresh mozzarella.  Sprinkle liberally with dried Italian seasoning if you wish, then top with a second tortilla.

Give the quesadilla a few minutes to toast on the bottom, pressing down occasionally on the top with your spatula, and then flip it over to toast on the other side.  When the tortillas are toasted and the cheeses are meltylicious, your quesadilla margherita is ready!

Repeat as necessary until you've made 4 quesadillas.

If you like, you can add anchovies right after the basil but before the fresh mozzarella.  I like mine with anchovies, but Maryanne and Lynnafred prefer theirs without.

The quesadillas were made even more awesome because the plum tomatoes were freshly picked out of our garden, and the fresh mozzarella was the amazing stuff that ShopRite makes in-store.

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