Ridiculously Practical Meals: New Mexican Quesadilla

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One of my all time favorite restaurants is Duran Central Pharmacy. It is in a strange location, literally inside a pharmacy. The inside of the restaurant is alright, nothing fancy and very casual, but this restaurant is not about the atmosphere, it's about the red chile and the tortillas.

Ever since moving to Albuquerque I've been under a lot of pressure to adopt a love for chile. I'm pretty sure it's the state food. Coming from Washington state, my spice palate was pretty much non-existent. Little by little I've learned that it's not chili, it's chile, you get funny looks if you don't at least order chile on the side, that Christmas means having both red and green chile, and that if I just dip the edge of my bite of food in the chile I'll get the flavor without burning my mouth. People who like chile will tell you that it's all about flavor and that it isn't very spicy. In a sense it's true, chile is not as spicy as a jalapeño, but it's still spicy. For a very long time I never understood the love of chile. Then I went to Durans. Durans has the best red chile I have ever tasted and I fell in love. When I go to Durans I don't just eat the chile, I smother my meal with it. If I don't go to Durans on Saturday morning for brunch, I crave their chile all week. Imagine, then, my delight in finding out I can buy the chile separately in a gift basket! I can have red chile all week long! Now, imagine what your delight should be in finding out that Durans ships their chile nation wide! And no, this is not a sponsored post. I am truly just this enamored with their red chile. Ok, enough preamble and on to the food.

I wanted to recreate the restaurant food at home as closely as I could. Normally I order the Quesadilla (and drench it with red chile). For this you will need: one large flour tortilla, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and Durans red chile (if you don't want to order from Durans, many grocery stores will carry bottled chile in the ethnic food section near the salsa and this can technically be eaten with green chile instead of red). Simply add another tortilla and double the other ingredients if you want to serve two people, triple for three, etc. You get it. Everything here is to taste. If you like a lot of tomato use two tomatoes, if not only use one.

Lay out your tortilla and cover with cheese. Toast until the cheese is melted. You could do this in your microwave, in a skillet, or on a grill. I used my Foreman Grill. While your tortilla is toasting, pour a generous amount of chile in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. When the cheese is melted remove the tortilla from heat, place it on a plate and top with the tomato and and green onions. Smother with warmed chili. Enjoy!

A fun fact, eating chiles releases endorphins and helps you feel happy! Next time your sad, grab some chile instead of ice cream. Bon appétit!