Sunday Quesadillas

When I asked Michael Martinez of L.A. Compost about one of his favorite, simple dishes, he mentioned Sunday Quesadillas. His family finds the “bits and pieces”--aka leftovers--from the week, and uses tortillas as delicious edible plates for whatever looks good. For my Sunday Quesadilla, I found some triple cream cheese, beet greens, crème fraiche (a staple in my refrigerator) and green onions. It was delicious.

I use freshly made masa, which can be purchased at any Mexican grocery store (Vallarta or Baja Ranch are two possibilities near my home in Pasadena), or if you are in east Los Angeles, try a specialty tortilleria. I like Tortilleria San Marcos or La Jolla Food Products.

Method

• Form a ball with the masa and place between two plastic sheets in a tortilla press or roll into a flat round with a rolling pin. The size of the ball will determine the size of your tortilla. I usually make them a little larger than golf ball size.
• Heat a scant amount of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan. Add the tortilla and cook until slightly toasted; then turn over.  In the same pan, heat the beet greens and the green onion until slightly wilted.  Add a few chunks of cheese to the tortilla, the beet greens and the green onion. Drizzle with crème fraiche and serve hot.

This is one of many toppings that can be found through refrigerator foraging.  Bits of stew meat, roasted vegetables--a favorite of mine is corn, cheeses, and various leafy greens are all delicious.