Crispy tortillas filled with melted cheese, delicate squash blossoms, fresh basil, and a variety of cherry and grape tomatoes. This quesadilla is delicious and full of fresh ingredients straight from the Farmer’s Market.
One of my favorite weekend activities is the Farmer’s Market. I’m willing to wake up early on Saturday or Sunday morning just to browse fresh produce and discover new vendors. This last weekend, my cousin and I went to downtown Sunnyvale for the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market. We have never been to this one before, so it was a pleasant surprise to find so many vendors I haven’t encountered before. One block was lined with fruits and vegetables, the other block sold different prepared foods. It’s definitely a food blogger’s paradise!
Many varieties of tomatoes. Aren’t these heirloom tomatoes gorgeous?
Fresh berries. Plus tons of fruit samplings.
My cousin wanted to try the fresh oysters sold by a vendor from a farm in Santa Cruz.
As for me? I was excited to try Sugar Mama Desserts’ ice cream. I was disappointed that they didn’t have their famous Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream. Each pint of ice cream contained half a pound of fresh strawberries. Instead I ordered the coconut macadamia nut ice cream and the dark chocolate with raspberry swirls. So good! There were so many macadamia nuts in the ice cream. My favorite. If you’re ever in the area, I recommend stopping by the Sugar Mama Desserts booth.
While I was at the Farmer’s Market, I bought tons of grape and cherry tomatoes. But I discovered something there that I’ve only read in food blogs before. Squash blossoms. I saw them at a vendor, and I just had to get them. This is the first time I’ve ever used them, or seen them for that matter.
Squash blossoms are very delicate. They’re best if eaten the same day, but if you need to keep them, place them in the refrigerator wrapped in a paper towel. My blossoms started to wilt later that day. They’re very tender and slightly sweet.
In general, zucchinis and summer squashes have tons of health benefits. They have antioxidants, dietary fiber, antimicrobial and anti cancer benefits, and regulate blood sugar levels. So try to add zucchinis and squashes to your meals.
In today’s post, I wanted to add my new found seasonal ingredient: squash blossoms.
I thought I could incorporate them into quesadillas. Just a few fresh ingredients, a little bit of heating, and you have a warm dish full of flavor.
These quesadillas are crispy on the outside with melted cheese, refreshing basil, slightly sweet blossoms, and juicy cherries in every bite. So much natural flavor there’s no need to season them. I could eat a few of these and not feel guilty.
I’ll definitely bring these to Fiesta Friday . =)
First, prepare all the ingredients. Tear up the squash blossoms into strips, slice the tomatoes into thirds, and tear up the fresh basils.
In a small skillet, use nonstick cooking spray to coat the bottom. Place a tortilla on the bottom of the skillet and warm over low heat. If you’re on a gluten free diet, you can use gluten free tortillas.
Sprinkle cheese onto the tortilla with a generous amount on the outer edges. This helps seal the edges of the tortilla when the cheese melts.
Add the sliced tomatoes, strips of squash blossoms, and torn basil.
Add more cheese on top. Then cover with a second tortilla.
Once the bottom tortilla has turned a golden brown, slip a spatula underneath and flip the quesadilla over. Allow the tortilla to heat until it becomes warm and turns a golden brown.
Plate the quesadilla and cut them in half. I find cutting with a pair of scissors is much easier than with a knife.
Make as many servings as you need.
Serve the quesadilla warm. Enjoy!
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Crispy tortillas filled with melted cheese, delicate squash blossoms, fresh basil, and a variety of cherry and grape tomatoes. This quesadilla is delicious and full of fresh ingredients straight from the Farmer’s Market.
Author: Andrea Giang
Ingredients
2 flour tortillas
½ cup cheese, divided
4-5 grape/cherry tomatoes, sliced
4 large basil leaves, torn
4 squash blossoms, torn
Directions
In a small skillet, coat the bottom with nonstick cooking spray. Place a tortilla in the skillet over low heat.
Sprinkle about ¼ cup cheese over the tortilla with a generous amount on the edges.
Add the sliced tomatoes, torn basil leaves, and strips of squash blossom.
Add the rest of the cheese on top, and place a second tortilla over it.
Once the bottom tortilla turns a golden brown, slip a spatula underneath and flip the quesadilla over.
Heat the tortilla until it becomes crispy and golden brown.
Plate the quesadilla. Cut it in half or in fourths.
Serve the quesadilla warm.
https://cookingwithawallflower.com/2014/07/25/squash-blossom-quesadillas/
This looks so yummy!! I’m definitely going to try it 🙂
Thank you! I really hope you’ll like the quesadillas when you have the chance to make them =)
thank you for stopping by…beautiful mother of delicious recipes…have a good sunday 😉
Thank you!
This is so very pretty. We always have too many pumpkin/zucchini flowers, and this looks like a good way to use them to best effect. Thank you for bringing this beautiful dish to Fiesta Friday.
You’re welcome! I hope you’ll like these quesadillas! =)
It looks so appetizing, yummy 🙂
Thank you! If you get the chance to try it, I hope you’ll like it =)
How beautiful with great unusual ingredients 🙂
Thank you, Loretta!
Oh my goodness, I want to try these so much! I don’t grow my own squash though so I am wondering where I can get the blossoms! I’ve never noticed them at the farmer’s market…I will have to ask around! Pinning! So glad you linked this up with us at #FoodieFridays!
I’m so glad that I’m able to share at Foodie Fridays! I don’t grow my own squash either and it was the first time I’ve seen squash blossoms at a farmer’s market. I think it might be because it’s hard to harvest the blossoms since they’re so delicate, and they wilt pretty fast. But it’s more likely that you’ll find squash blossoms at the farmer’s market than a regular supermarket. Good luck finding them =)
I love quesadillas and squash blossoms, and yours look very very good.
Thank you so much!
Hi Andrea, this looks utterly delicious. Which leads me to my question – do you photograph your own dishes? Lovely work, very light and fresh.
Thank you! I do take my own photos for my blog. I’ve been playing around to try to get better photos for my recipes =)
It’s looking good and no doubt tastes the same 🙂
Thank you!
Wow, Andrea! This is like art on a plate! Your post is simply gorgeous! 😀
Thank you so much, Julianna!
Intriguing. I’ve never heard of squash blossoms. Wonder if they’re regional to just certain parts of the country? In any case your article reminds me there is summer squash and zucchini that I have yet to cook with this season. Now if I can just find that recipe for spaghetti squash — sprinkled with feta cheese. Yum!
Before this last weekend, I’ve only seen squash blossoms on other blogs. I was so excited. lol. I think the reason why we don’t see it in markets is because they are very fragile and they wilt super fast. They started to wilt at the end of the day even in the refrigerator. I had to soak them in water to try to make them look more lively. lol. I have never had spaghetti squash sprinkled with feta cheese before. I should try it =)