Italian Quesadillas

Photo: flickr user EraPhernalia Vintage (way behind. sorry!)

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

In a mixing bowl combine the tomatoes, basil, olive oil and season to taste with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

In a mixing bowl combine the mozzarella cheese, ricotta, green onion, olives and artichoke hearts; season with salt and crushed red pepper flakes.

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.

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.

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.

This recipe yields 4 servings.