Italian Quesadillas
By: Anonymous
Published: Saturday, December 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Ingredients




4 plum tomatoes finely diced
1/2 cup basil leaves cut into thin strips
1/4 cup olive oil
Balsamic vinegar to taste
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 pound freshly-grated mozzarella cheese
(part skim or whole milk)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
(part skim or whole milk)
4 green onions trimmed, and
thinly sliced
1/4 cup finely-sliced pitted oil cured olives
1 cup finely-chopped marinated artichoke hearts
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
8 flour tortillas
Vegetable oil to cook the quesadil
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Preparation

1 In a mixing bowl combine the tomatoes, basil, olive oil and season to taste with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. 2 In a mixing bowl combine the mozzarella cheese, ricotta, green onion, olives and artichoke hearts; season with salt and crushed red pepper flakes. 3 Spread some mixture on one half of each tortilla, leaving about 1/4-inch between the filling and the edge of the tortilla. Fold each tortilla in half. Fry the tortillas in a little bit of vegetable oil for about a minute a side until golden and cheese has melted; keep warm in low oven until ready to serve. Top with tomatoes and basil and pine nuts. 4 Alternate way to do is to preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread stuffing over entire surface of tortillas without folding them. Set them on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted. Fold over and serve with topping. 5 Especially good for children: Set aside some plain mozzarella mixed with ricotta and fill the kids tortillas with this rather than the more elaborate filling. 6 This recipe yields 4 servings.