Fried Egg Quesadilla

Fried Egg Quesadilla
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Rating
4(1,529)
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This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredients list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen.

This simple fried egg quesadilla makes as fine a light supper as it does a breakfast repast. Easy work: Melt some butter in a pan and gently cook a corn tortilla in it. Top the tortilla with grated Cheddar, a slice of deli ham or some cooked bacon if you want them, a little chopped cilantro or salsa or hot sauce, and another tortilla. Cook, flipping the quesadilla a few times, until it is crisp and golden and the cheese has melted into lace at the sides. Use a spatula to pull it out of the pan, and place it onto a cutting board to rest. Fry an egg in the now-empty pan with a little more butter, then cut the quesadilla into quarters, placing the egg on top. Top with cilantro and hot sauce or salsa.

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4 out of 5
1,529 user ratings
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Comments

Instead of having two flat tortillas with filling between them, fill each half and fold them over into half moons, and frying them next to each other. Much easier to flip without contents going everywhere.

I made it with butter and it helped brown the tortillas perfectly. I am a huge fan of butter anyway but it definitely elevated the taste

I’m mystified why anyone would cook a quesadilla in butter. It’s completely unnecessary. Worked easily in dry cast iron skillet. There’s enough fat from melted cheese to cook egg without sticking. Really enjoyed fried egg topping. For each corn tortilla quesadilla, used 1 oz Pepperjack, 1/2 oz chopped Serrano ham, 1 Tbsp minced red onion, 2 tsp green Chile salsa, 1/4 c chopped cilantro. With egg, one quesadilla per person is plenty. Serve with thinly-sliced cabbage salad.

Everything is better with an egg on it.

I used refried beans rather than meat. It worked great!

Great idea, everything is better with a fried egg on top. Added spinach and mushrooms and it became a complete meal.

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