apple + goat cheese quesadillas with heirloom pepper salsa

heirloom pepper salsa

4 heirloom sweet peppers, cut in half & seeded

whole canned tomatoes, 4 total with some sauce, pureed

4 T. chopped cilantro

1 small red onion, chopped

2 T. lime juice

1 large clove garlic

1 T. salt

4 T. hot sauce, or jalapeno pepper

preheat the oven to 300 and coat a baking sheet with olive oil. cut the peppers in half, seed them, and place them cut side down on the sheet. roast in the oven for one hour, or until skin begins to blacken. when finished, the skin should feel papery and peel off quite easily. meanwhile, roughly chop the onion and garlic, then place in a food processor and pulse until minced. place in a bowl, and then pulse the tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, hot sauce or jalapeno, and salt until the pepper and cilantro are nicely chopped, and combine with the garlic and onions. when the peppers are out of the oven & cool, peel them, pulse in the food processor, and add to the bowl with remaining ingredients. season to taste & let sit so the flavors combine, at least a few hours.

the apples, goat cheese & peppers were all items that jon & I bought on saturday at the farmers at the firehouse market in the strip district. I was thinking I would make a quinoa salad with the peppers & goat cheese, but when I saw this recipe today I changed my mind. apple + goat cheese quesadillas instead!

you can also try adding your favorite hot sauce, which will change the flavor of the salsa. i recommend franks’s redhot or chipotle tobasco—-the chipotle flavor would complement the roasted peppers nicely.

apple + goat cheese quesadillas

4 corn tortillas

1 cup goat cheese, at room temperature

4 apples, sliced vertically, seeds removed

1 T. olive oil

assemble the quesadillas by spreading a quarter cup of cheese on each tortilla, and covering half with slices from one of the apples. fold the other side in, pressing to make sure the apples are in place. brush the outside of the quesadilla with olive oil, and make the remaining quesadillas. broil in the oven, 5-8 minutes on each side, until the cheese melts & the tortilla has begun to brown. serve with the heirloom pepper salsa & chopped avocado.