Quesadilla

A tortilla folded over melting cheese and heated on a comal until the cheese runs and the outside blisters: the quesadilla is the simplest thing in the Mexican antojito repertoire and one of the most argued over. The name comes from queso, and in most of Mexico cheese is the defining ingredient, with Oaxaca string cheese, Chihuahua or asadero the usual choices because they melt into threads rather than oil. Mexico City is the exception that fuels the argument: there a quesadilla is a folded, often deep-fried corn pocket filled with squash blossom, mushrooms, tinga or huitlacoche, and cheese is something you ask for. North of the border and in Tex-Mex kitchens the quesadilla became a large flour tortilla sandwiched flat with cheese and cut into wedges, which is a fair snack but a different object.