Roast poblano pepper quesadillas

I picked up some gorgeous poblano peppers at our local farmers market. An easy and delicious prep method is to roast them, either on the grill or in your oven. Roasted, they have a wonderful, smoky, spicy flavor that combines beautifully with many other ingredients: cheeses, avocado, diced tomatoes. You can toss in some grilled chicken if you're not feeling vegetarian. A quick, flavorful meal.

Next time you're at your local market or grocery, pick up a few and give this a try. You'll be saying, "¡Muy auténtico!"

Roast poblano pepper quesadillas

3 poblano peppers
1 cup shredded queso fresca *
1 cup grated cotija *
8 flour tortillas
(2 grilled chicken breasts cut into strips if desired)

*Trader Joe's and some specialty stores have these cheeses. Queso fresca is a mild, creamy, crumbly cheese. Cotija is sharp with a texture resembling parmigiano reggiano. If you can't find these cheeses, any shredded Mexican cheese blend or cheddar/monterey jack blend will be fine.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Lay poblanos directly on the grill. Turn frequently until charred and softened. It will look like the photo above. Remove from grill and place in plastic bag. Close bag. Let sit for five minutes. Take peppers out of bag. Remove skin. Cut off stem. Slice open the pepper and scrape out the seeds. Slice peppers into strips.

While preparing peppers, grill chicken breasts (if desired). When chicken is cooked through, slice into thin strips.

Reduce grill to low heat. Place pizza stone on grill. Leave the grill closed for five minutes to heat the stone. Assemble the quesadilla by sprinkling cheeses, poblano peppers, chicken (if desired), and more cheese on one tortilla. Top with second tortilla. Place the quesadilla on the pizza stone. Grill until the bottom tortilla starts to brown. Flip quesadilla. Cook to brown the second tortilla.

Cut into pieces. Top with diced avocados, salsa, or pico de gallo if you want.

Delicioso!!