Quesadillas De Flor De Calabaza (Squash-Blossoms)

Ingredients

• 2 poblano chiles
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 small white onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 medium tomato, cored and chopped
• 20 squash blossoms, cleaned (remove pistils)
• 1 tablespoon fresh epazote (optional) or 1 teaspoon dried epazote (optional)
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 3/4 lb monterey jack cheese, grated
• 2 lbs fresh masa harina flour or 20 small flour tortillas
• lard or vegetable shortening

Directions

1. 1

   Set rack in top third of oven, then preheat broiler. Put chilies on a cookie sheet and broil until skin is blistered and charred, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chilies to a deep bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside until cool. Peel, stem, seed, and chop chilies, then set aside.

2. 2

   Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes, then add tomatoes and cook until liquid evaporates, about 4 minutes. Add squash blossoms, epazote (if using), and reserved chiles, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until blossoms soften and wilt, 1 1/2-2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside until cool. Add monterey jack and toss until just mixed. Set filling aside.

3. 3

   If using masa. Form masa into 20 1 1/2'' balls, then loosely cover with plastic wrap. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over base of a tortilla press, draping it over the sides. Place 1 ball of masa on plastic, slightly off-center of the press, towards the hinge. Lay another sheet of plastic wrap over masa, draping it over sides, then close press to flatten masa into a tortilla. Set plastic-covered tortilla aside. Repeat process, draping press with plastic and pressing out tortillas with remaining balls.

4. 4

   Place 1 tortilla at a time on a flat surface and peel off 1 of the sheets of plastic. Put 2 tablespoons of the filling on half of tortilla; then, holding plastic with one hand, fold other half of tortilla over filling to form a half circle. Press edges together to seal, then set quesadillas aside.

5. 5

   Lightly grease surface of a large cast-iron skillet with a little lard, then heat over medium heat until hot. Working in batches, remove plastic from quesadillas, then fry quesadillas until crusty and dark brown in patches, about 4 minutes per side. Serve hot.