Chicken Quesadillas with Tomatillo Salsa

Serves

Here is a terrific way to use extra grilled chicken. Your family won’t even know this is a “leftover” meal.

	6	flour tortillas, 10 inches in diameter
	1	cup (4 ounces) shredded pepper jack cheese
	1	thigh and 1 half-breast Grilled Chicken with Herbed Mustard, shredded (1½ cups)

	1	(12 oz.) can whole tomatillos, drained and diced
	1	Tbsp. fresh lime juice
	2	Tbsp. minced fresh Anaheim chili (see Cook’s Notes)
	1	Serrano chili, seeded and minced (see Cook’s Notes)
	¼	tsp. salt
	¼	tsp. granulated sugar
	3	Tbsp. fresh cilantro leaves

Put the tomatillos in a small bowl and stir in all the remaining salsa ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Set aside until ready to serve.

Heat a heavy 12-inch skillet over high heat. Place a tortilla in the pan and sprinkle with one third of the cheese and one third of the chicken. Cover with a second tortilla. When the bottom tortilla is nicely browned, use a wide spatula to turn the quesadilla. Brown the other side. Place on a cutting board. Repeat to cook the other 2 quesadillas. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut each quesadilla into 6 wedges. Arrange the wedges on a warm platter and serve immediately. Pass the salsa to spoon on top of the quesadillas.

We recommend keeping some disposable surgical gloves on hand (available at any pharmacy) to wear while working with fresh chilies. Oils from cut fresh chilies on your hands can easily irritate your eyes or nose if touched.
Anaheim chilies are large, long green fresh chilies that are mild in flavor. Serrano chilies are small, green, hot fresh chilies. Serranos are hotter than jalapeños and a little smaller. Look for these chilies in the produce aisle of a well-stocked supermarket.

This content is from the book Cooking for the Week by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, and Kathleen Taggart.