Blackjack Quesadillas

By sarah_carroll

Ingredients

• 125 ml (1/2 cup) canola oil
• 4 white onions, finely diced
• 2 cups (firmly packed) coriander, coarsely chopped
• 4 lime wedges, plus extra to serve
• 4 flour tortillas, 25cm-30cm in diameter
• 140 gm cheddar, coarsely grated
• 140 gm Monterey Jack, coarsely grated (see note)
• To serve: toasted sesame seeds
• Spicy pork al pastor
• 160 ml (2/3 cup) gochujang (see note)
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) light soy sauce
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) Sprite lemonade
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 spring onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 jalapeño chilli, coarsely chopped
• 900 gm pork belly, skin removed, sliced 5mm thick
• Salsa verde
• 120 ml canola oil
• 3 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced on a mandolin
• 1 small jalapeño chilli
• 1/4 small white onion
• 1 1/2 cups (firmly packed) coriander, coarsely chopped
• 3 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp each lime juice and freshly squeezed orange juice

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

For spicy pork al pastor, purée ingredients (except pork belly) in a blender until smooth (1-2 minutes). Mix marinade with pork belly in a non-reactive container, cover and refrigerate to marinate (2 hours-overnight).
2 Meanwhile, for salsa verde, heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat to 150C. Add garlic and stir continuously until just golden (1-1½ minutes; be careful not to overcook garlic or it will become bitter). Strain through a metal sieve into a heatproof bowl (reserve garlic and oil separately) and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, heat a char-grill pan over high heat and grill jalapeño and onion until black but not burnt (8-10 minutes). When cool enough to handle, peel jalapeño (discard skin) and transfer to a food processor with onion, fried garlic and reserved oil. Add remaining ingredients, season to taste with sea salt, process until very smooth (2-3 minutes) and refrigerate until required. Makes about 250ml.
3 Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add onion, stir occasionally until tender (8-10 minutes), season to taste and keep warm.
4 Heat a plancha (see note) to medium-high heat, or heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 tsp oil and one-quarter of the pork and stir occasionally until cooked through (3-4 minutes), then add one-quarter of the coriander and squeeze over a lime wedge. Add 1 tsp oil to a clean section of the plancha or to a separate frying pan large enough to fit a tortilla. Add tortilla to pan, scatter one-quarter of each cheese, cooked pork mixture and one-quarter of the onions over tortilla, fold like a half-moon and cook, turning once, until tortilla blisters and cheese melts (1-2 minutes). Remove from pan and keep warm. Wipe pan clean with absorbent paper and repeat, in batches, with remaining ingredients.
5 Cut tortillas into wedges and serve doused with salsa verde and scattered with sesame seeds, with extra lime wedges.