A Farmers Market Surprise

flor de calabazas

Squash blossoms!  The ones in the picture have closed up but at the market they were open and so beautiful I had to buy them.  Well, I bought them after the farmer explained to me what to do with them. He said quesadillas with cheese, ham and the squash blossoms.  That did not sound appealing to me but I was intrigued.  Here is the recipe I worked from:

Squash Blossom Quesadillas – from Simply Recipes

Traditionally a small sprig of epazote (a Mexican herb) is placed in each quesadilla with the squash blossoms. You can also lay a strip or two of roasted poblano chile in the quesadilla.

    2 Tbsp olive oil

    1 cup chopped onion

    5 cloves of garlic, minced

    30 summer squash blossoms

    1 teaspoon butter

    12 white corn tortillas

    8 ounces Oaxaca cheese (a Mexican string cheese) or Monterey jack cheese, sliced

    Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

1 Prepare the squash blossoms. Check the insides of the blossoms for bugs, rinse out if you find any or if the blossoms are dusty. Otherwise there should be no need to wash. Cut away the stems. Roughly chop the blossoms, stamens and all.

2 Heat the oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté  for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté a minute more. Add the squash blossoms and toss to coat with the garlic and onions. Cook for a minute or two more, until the blossoms are just wilted. Remove from heat.

3 Heat a large cast iron pan or a large relatively stick-free skillet on medium heat. Rub a little butter in the pan (just enough to give the tortillas a little flavor). Place a corn tortilla in the pan and heat on both sides for half a minute or so, until bubbles begin to form in the tortilla. Place a slice or two of the cheese on one side of the tortilla. Top with a tablespoon or two of the squash blossom mixture. Use a spatula to fold the other side of the tortilla over the side with the cheese and squash blossoms. Press down with a spatula. Cook until the cheese has melted and the tortilla lightly browned.  While the quesadilla is cooking, if your pan is large enough, you can start heating another tortilla in the pan.

4 When the cheese has melted, remove the quesadilla from the pan and continue to make the remaining quesadillas in the same manner. To serve, cut each quesadilla into triangles and serve with salsa, chopped fresh cilantro, avocado, black beans, Mexican queso crema (or diluted sour cream)

Serves 4-6

. . . . . . .
I had Swiss cheese, Cheddar, and Feta on hand so I went with the Feta.  I also had no poblano which she suggests at the top but I did have a fabulous green pepper and I chopped up a piece of that and cooked it with the onion.

I was careful to watch the cooking times and ended up with a nice taco with a little crunch to it.  The Feta worked and so does adding just a touch of butter to the pan when you add the tortillas. I added a little pico de gallo to the tacos when they were done but there was no need for much.  Next time I make these I will plan to have queso fresco on hand.  A slice of jack cheese seems too heavy to me.

So delicious!!  I hope they have squash blossoms next week!!

EDIT 08/11/14:  They did have squash blossoms again this last Saturday and it turns out that I like the feta better than the queso fresco. I still think the jack would be too heavy and the farmer reminded me he said pepper jack.