Mexican Oaxaca cheese

Oaxaca cheese is the cheese used when making quesadillas. It is named after Mexican state of Oaxaca which is famous for its very rich and amazing gastronomy.

This semi-soft cheese becomes soft and stringy when melted, it is less salty than your average cheese and it has a very mild flavor. And that is exactly what you need when making quesadillas, a cheese that gives you the texture but does not take over the flavor. Mozzarella is its European cousin.

Make some corn tortillas, fill with cheese and melt in a pan. Open and fill with a spoon of pico de gallo. Too delicious.

Blog Quesadillas turns 2

Second year of my little blog has passed and I am continuing to explore our amazing world, through the kitchen. Maybe somewhat slowly, but I am loving and enjoying every step of it. I hope you do too!

For this birthday celebration I decided to make quesadillas with mini asparagus. Normal size asparagus is very German but this mini asparagus not so much. I have seen it only in one food shop so far, imported from Thailand. I was really curious about it so I bought it.

It is as big and as thin as a pencil. And it is so tender that there is no need to peel it or to cut off the ends. I just washed it and cooked it in a pan with some olive oil for about 5 minutes. It can also be eaten fresh. The taste is not that strong as of the normal size asparagus, is rather mild.

I used Italian cheese Fontal (Fontina) because it melts perfectly, although the taste might be somewhat too much intense for a quesadilla. But it did fit nicely with the mini asparagus and the corn tortilla. Happy Birthday Blog Quesadillas!

Spring = bamboo shoot

It is bamboo shoot season in China. With the arrival of spring come first bamboo shoots of the year. Bamboo shoots are new bamboo plants that have just started coming out of the ground. They are edible as long as you pick them before the first leaves start coming out. So if you let it grow bamboo shoot will eventually become a bamboo plant.

Bamboo shoots have many different sizes and shapes. But all need to be cleaned, sliced and cooked in plenty of water before eating, otherwise they taste bitter, I was told. So I did that. I cleaned, sliced and boiled them for about 30 minutes. And when done they were still a bit crispy and the taste was very mild. Kind of like asparagus but not watery. And what can you make with bamboo shoots if not quesadillas!

I made corn tortillas. The wonderful thing about living in an international city like Shanghai is that you can find special corn flour called Masa.

The easiest way to make tortillas is with a tortilla machine. No matter how you put the dough, it always comes out perfectly round. Mine tortilla machine has made it all the way from Mexico to China (it is called addiction).

When making corn tortillas it is important to get them inflated. And there is a trick for that! Put a tortilla in a very hot pan for a bout 10 seconds, or until it gets "skin" on the bottom. Then turn it around, and cook for 20 seconds. Then turn it around again and let it inflate. Late it cook for 10-15 seconds...done!

And what can I say, the perfect corn tortilla with melted cheese and slightly crispy bamboo shoots was wonderful!