Vegetarian Sincronizada (Quesadillas)

By Pavani @napavani
Blogging Marathon# 53: Week 1/ Day 1 Theme: Tortilla based Dishes Dish: Sincronizada We are starting a brand new edition of Blogging marathon today and my theme for this week is 'Tortilla based dishes'. Valli gave us a list of tortilla dishes to choose from to make our lives easy. Tortilla is nothing but the Spanish version of Indian rotis. They are soft and made with finely ground wheat flour or corn flour.
So for the first day, I picked Sincronizada. The name seemed very complicated but making it is not complicated at all. Sincronizada is usually confused with Quesadilla, but they are considered are completely different dishes. Quesadilla is traditionally made with corn flour and is single folded. Whereas sincronizada is made with flour tortilla, has 'ham' as a mandatory ingredient and is usually made as a sandwich.
Sincronizada is made by placing refried beans, ham and cheese (usually oaxaca or manchego cheese is used) between 2 flour tortillas and then cooked till the cheese melts and the tortillas get crispy. It is then served cut into wedges or halves.
I found a recipe to sinchronizada in my 'Mexican cookshelf' and I followed the recipe for vegetarian version of the dish. It is a simple recipe and can be served as an appetizer or as a main dish. Flipping the 'sandwich' can be tricky since the tortillas tend to be big and floppy. I used a wide spatula and was able to flip it without a problem. But sliding it onto a plate and then inverting to cook the other side would also help.  Ingredients: Makes 3 Sinchronizadas Flour Tortillas - 6
Salsa, of your choice - as needed
Grated Cheese - 1cup (Cheddar, Monterey jack, Pepperjack cheese would work great)
For the Filling:
Black beans - 1cup, cooked
Spinach - 4cups (or use 1~11/2 cups of thawed frozen spinach)
Green Onions - 4, white & green parts chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, finely minced
Jalapeno - 1, finely chopped (adjust as per taste)
Chili powder - 1/2tsp
Ground Cumin - 1/2tsp
Salt & Pepper - to taste
Method:
  • Make the filling: Heat 1tbsp oil in a skillet, add the onion, garlic and jalapeno. Saute till onions are translucent.
  • Next add the black beans and spinach and cook till spinach is wilted and cooked through, about 3~5 minutes.
  • Add the chili powder, ground cumin, salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for 2 more minutes.
  • Make the Sinchronizadas: Lightly grease a nonstick skillet and heat over a medium heat
  • Place one tortilla on the pan and top it with a layer of filling and cheese. Generously spread salsa over the other tortilla and place it salsa-side down on top of the cheese and filling tortilla in the pan.
  • Cook until cheese is melted and the base of the tortilla is golden brown.
  • Carefully flip the sincronizada by placing a heatproof plate, upside down, on top of the pan. Taking care to protect your hands, hold the plate firmly in place and carefully invert the pan onto a plate.
  • Slide it back into the pan and cook till the other side of the tortilla is golden brown.
  • Remove from the pan and cut into wedges. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas. Serve with sour cream.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 53.