Basil Pesto

ashu’s Basil Pesto & Mushroom Quesadilla

This morning I made these quesadillas for breakfast and as it is a much liked recipe in my house, I thought of sharing it here with you all. A few basic ingredients are a must to make this at home. We need ready Basil pesto and mushroom filling to make this. I have already shared my recipes of the Basil pesto (click here) and Mushroom filling (click here), check them as previous posts .

I first tasted quesadilla in Chili’s Restaurant in Dubai, something which I would love to eat regularly was the thought that came instantly to mind after the first bite. New food or menus that I loved eating outside first time always end up being tried in my kitchen and getting included in my regular cooking/menus. Like in most Indian houses, I too make fulkas or chapatis or parathas on a daily basis, and hence I prefer to make use of these instead of the Tortillas that I would need to buy from the supermarket for making this recipe. I prefer our regular whole wheat flour to make them. Chapati (without oil) that I make is just a bigger size of the regular Fulkas that I make for our daily meals. (You can check my Fulka recipe here).

Before we start the recipe I would like to share that I prefer the Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses more in my cooking over other cheese used by the specific recipes. I stock on the Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano, whichever I find available in the supermarkets. I have used the cheese that were stocked in my fridge.

Basil Pesto & Mushroom Quesadillas

INGREDIENTS: (To make for 4)

Chapatis : 8

Basil Pesto: 4 Tbsp

Mushroom Filling : 1 Bowl (For recipe click here)

Cheddar Cheese slices : 6-8 slices (or you can use freshly shredded as per availability or requirement)

Parmesan Cheese: as per preference

Cooking Oil: 4 Tsp (use more if preferred)

METHOD:

Take 2 chapatis at a time and apply the basil pesto on both of them on one side each.

Basil Pesto and Mushroom filling and Chapatis to make the Quesadillas

Take 2 tbsp mushroom filling and spread it on one of the chapatis, cut the cheese slices in smaller pieces and spread over the filling, grate the Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese as per preference and cover it with the other chapati with pesto facing side and press firmly.

Heat a tava or pan and put these chapatis on it and press firmly with a wooden spatula so that both sides get roasted crispy, melting the cheese inside. We can make use of 1 tsp oil to make them crisper.

Remove them from the pan once both sides are reddish and crispy. Cut them into fours and serve hot with more of the Basil pesto or they can be eaten as it is.

Grate more of the cheese on top if preferred

We can even dry roast them and avoid using oil if we want, I did make some without using oil.

ashu’s Basil Pesto & Mushroom Quesadillas

You can make the rest of the quesadillas in this way, with or without using oil. Apply the pesto, mushroom filling, and cheese as per own taste and enjoy these healthy and delicious Quesadillas for any meal of the day.

Tip: You can even make use of any leftover chapati or plain parathas to make the quesadilla with any filling of choice.

I enjoyed writing this post and sharing my simple homemade recipes with you all, hope you enjoy trying it out.

Enjoy!

ashu

Greetings to all my fellow bloggers and my readers. I am very happy to thank all the new followers of my blog and the visitors whose daily visits to the blog bring on the cheer in my day to day life. It has been quite a while that I have posted my recipes.

The Summer has been quite disappointing and sad in terms of my personal dream and goal that left me disinterested in anything for a while, but one has to move on and keep dreaming. These past months have been busy with family as well, and I have just returned from a European Holiday. Mid July was spent travelling through Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, & Budapest. The travel diaries post will follow soon as and when I start writing them, but until then will post a couple food recipes that I wish to share this month.

Sharing below my recipe of the Basil pesto, the method I use to make this recipe.

Basil Pesto

INGREDIENTS:

Basil: 1 Bunch (small potted plant as sold here)

Pistachio slices: 2 Tbsp

Green Chili: 1 (small or medium as per choice, I used a small hot chili)

Garlic clove: 1

Lemon: 1/2

Olive Oil: 2-3 Tbsp (I prefer more hence add 3 tbsp)

Salt: To taste

METHOD:

Wash and towel dry the basil leaves, and assemble all the ingredients together.

Transfer the roughly chopped Basil leaves, green chili, garlic clove and pistachio slices in a mixer/grinder pot and grind to make a smooth paste. Add the lemon juice and oil to help grind the paste to smooth consistency. It is totally acceptable if a very smooth paste is not achieved, little rough nutty bite of the paste works fine. Adjust the salt and lemony taste to own preference, add more lemon juice if required.

We do not add too much of the green chili and garlic as the distinct delicate basil flavor is desired, the little lemon juice adds the required zing and perfect tang to tickle the taste buds. It is a favorite pesto of mine and I absolutely love to mix it with Italian Olive oil and drizzle my homemade pizzas and calzones 🙂