United Nations quesadillas

United Nations quesadillas, originally uploaded by beFOODled.

In the spirit of using what's in the fridge instead of buying more groceries, I united three nations on Wednesday night with Mexican, Italian and Japanese ingredients in my fusion quesadillas. Fresh basil took the place of cilantro, mozzarella cheese filled in for sharp cheddar, and instead of sour cream, which I was sorely tempted to purchase, I made a dip from plain yogurt, dried dill and some Japanese seven-spice chilli powder. To my surprise it turned out to be extremely edible! Too bad S, who doesn't like to waste food, wasn't here to witness my home economics.

United Nations Quesadillas
serves one

2 pita breads
olive oil
1 green onion, sliced
1/8 of a fresh red bell pepper, diced
fresh basil, chiffonaded
mozzarella cheese, grated
salsa

Take two pita breads out of your freezer and let them thaw. Brush one side of one pita with olive oil and place it on the cutting board oily side down. Add the onion, red pepper, basil cheese and a drizzling of salsa. Cover with the second pita and brush the top of it with oil, too.

Preheat a frying pan on the stovetop. Add some olive oil and let it heat up. Carefully add the quesadilla. Fry a few minutes on both sides until the pita bread has browned and the cheese has melted. Cut in half and then cut each half into three triangles.

As a substitute for sour cream, combine half a cup of plain yogurt with dillweed and some chilli powder (I used the Japanese seven-spice).