2.5 min. read
Do ‘flat foods’ naturally lend themselves to sheet pan preparation? That’s grossly oversimplifying an otherwise useful concept. But in the case of Quesadillas, today’s sheet pan recipe is a notion we could apply to any layered dish…
I am moved to observe that the sheet pan may be the new casserole dish. For generations, we have relied on casser-oles to prepare oven-baked dishes we might otherwise have created on the stovetop in a skillet. Recently, though, more and more recipes have been em-erging that trade roasting for frying and saucing – streamlining the prep process, cutting cooking time, and elevating the nutritional value and healthfulness of the ingredients involved.
A logical evolution
Roasted veggies were early sheet pan favourites – freed from the need for a roast to cuddle up to. Other favourites – such as Fajitas – that once required a lot of time and fussing became weeknight menu possibilities. And more recently, dishes such as lasagne that have always been layered have jumped from the casserole dish to the sheet pan – with a little creative adaptation….
Why not?
There’s no rule that says you can’t do any dish that would benefit from a roasting approach spread out on the sheet pan. Given that ‘revelation’, intrepid cooks have tried everything from grilled cheese sandwiches to entire mini Thanksgiving Dinners in the new format.
Thus did recipe contributor Lauren Miyashiro extend the sheet pan Fajita concept to another tradit-ional Mexican fave, the Quesadilla…
Subtle differences
There are subtle differences between the fajitas and today’s sheet pan Quesadillas. The most striking is that you actually assemble the Quesadillas on the sheet pan, between two layers of flour tortillas.
That means pre-cooking some of the ingredients – notably the ground beef. But that’s a small thing compared to the time you save later, assembling individual portions. And you also enjoy easy serving when you cut the sheet into individual portions before baking.
One more feature of today’s recipe I love is that you automatically achieve an ultra-crispy top shell for your Quesadillas when you bake them on the sheet pan.
Tips and hacks…
You can, of course, feature any protein you wish. This dish lends itself beautifully to using up leftover, precooked beef, chicken, or other meats. I have yet to try pulled pork, but I’m predicting amazing results!
And you can just as easily go vegetarian or even vegan by switching out the animal protein for some-thing like leftover refried beans!
As for the companion toppings, just go with whatever you love in a Quesadilla or Taco or Burrito. The only ‘rules’ are those you make yourself!
One drawback of baking the tortillas to peak crispiness – for me, anyway – was that they tend to curl producing a hard-to-handle crust. I have taken to sprinkling a little extra grated cheese between the layers and folds of the tortillas to help them stick together in a more cohesive whole. And nobody ever complained about extra cheese!
DO follow Lauren’s instructions for layering and folding the tortillas carefully, to ensure you get even distribution of the ‘bread’ component, and closed edges at the sides of the pan. This ensures that all but the very centre portions have at least one edge that joins the top crust to the bottom, lending some welcome stability to the stack.
My take
When I first saw this sheet pan prep application, I just knew I had to try it. It was one of those times when a light bulb comes on, and a little bell tinkles in the back of your mind telling you something is a winner!
Next time you crave any Mexican or Tex-Mex treat that’s usually wrapped in a flour tortilla, try build-ing it on a sheet pan… You’ll be glad you did!
~ Maggie J.