Cumin-Crusted Chicken Cheddar Quesadillas W/ Basil Sour Cream

Submitted by Lavender Lynn

"Recipe courtesy of Chef Jack McDavid, Jack’s Firehouse, Philadelphia, on behalf of the American Dairy Association"

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• For chicken

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 4 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless (about 1 1/2 pounds)

• For sauted mushrooms

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 portabello mushroom caps, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced, salt and pepper, to taste

• For basil sour cream

• 1 cup basil leaves, loosely packed
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups sour cream

• For quesadillas

• 6 (12 inch) flour tortillas
• 3⁄4 lb cheddar cheese, grated

directions

1. For chicken: In a small bowl, combine cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne. Rub chicken breasts with spice mixture. Grill chicken 6 minutes on each side or until tender. Remove from heat and thinly slice; set aside.
2. For sautéed mushrooms: Heat butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms and onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. For basil sour cream: Combine basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor. Process until pureed. Mix into sour cream. Set aside.
4. To assemble quesadillas: Pre-heat grill or griddle to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place tortillas on a flat surface. Generously sprinkle cheese onto one half of each tortilla. Combine chicken and mushrooms; divide evenly on top of the cheese. Sprinkle cheese on top of the chicken and mushroom mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Fold each tortilla in half (creating a half circle shaped quesadilla). Cook each quesadilla about 4-6 minutes, until cheese is melted and the tortilla begins to brown and crisp. Flip tortilla and repeat about 4-6 minutes. Remove quesadilla from heat and cool about 30 seconds before cutting into 3 triangle slices. Serve with basil sour cream.

Reviews

[Jostlori]

TEN stars! First, I should say I'm not a "melty cheese" kind of person. I don't like melty cheese. However, DH does. So these quesadillas were a nod to him. They are, simply, fantastic. All of the individual pieces of this recipe stand alone. The chicken is moist, flavorful, and I could eat it on the plate all by itself. The mushrooms - well- they're mushrooms and onions. What could be bad? Together they're a match made in heaven. And the sour cream-basil sauce? Heaven on earth. I ate more of everything than I should have. And I will make the sour cream sauce all by itself - to put on almost anything. Delish! Thanks so much for posting!!! Made for Culinary Quest 2015 by a Toasted Tourist.

 

[weekend cooker]

Sweet tangy, and delicious. Made this as written and made for a great, GREAT dinner last night. Very filling , and the kids got seconds before the DS and I did. Excellent filling. Made for PRMR tag.

 

[Barenakedchef]

This is so delicious! I am in love with mushrooms, so why I never thought to put them in my chicken quesadillas I'll never know. The basil cream was fresh and tangy and the perfect accompaniment. Made for Please Review My Recipe.

 

[stonecoldcrazy]

This is my new favorite meal! Absolutely delicious. The only thing I did different was to roll the tortillas around the filling and bake them.