Tortilla sandwich toasted gooey deliciousness

This tortilla sandwich is toasted in the pan and oozing with melted cheese and flavorful beef chili con carne. It also makes a yummy Saturday lunch!

The secret of a great tortilla sandwich is to have amazing fillings. This recipe is for one – you know who you are, but can be multiplied if you are feeding a family. I’m sure they will be standing around the table, waiting for another hot tortilla sandwich to reveal its melting deliciousness!

Is it a tortilla sandwich or a quesadilla?

I don’t usually buy any baked goods since most shop bought bread or wraps have ingredients that aren’t beneficial to our gut health. For the past two years I have been almost entirely eating my very own sourdough bread. Quite a few years ago I traveled to San Francisco and I have been fascinated by some of the great neighborhood restaurants or eateries serving nixtamalized corn tortillas. I remember researching the amazing taquerias in this America’s Original Foodie City.

That’s when I learned about blue corn too. Blue corn is not popular in the UK, and neither are corn tortillas, so it’s easy to just use the standard wheat or corn and wheat ones.

In my opinion, using shop bought tortillas it’s a small compromise for busy home cooks.

The tortilla sandwich can easily turn into a meal, especially if you’ve run out of ideas. In USA and South America this would be more popularly called a quesadilla.

When I think chili con carne, I instantly visualise rice on the side, a wedge of lime, some salsa and sour cream. But what if you have leftovers of a beef chili con carne?

What to do with your leftovers

There are some staples kept in my cupboard: pasta packets, rice, tins of tomatoes or tuna, wraps and rice paper sheets. I am sure that home cooks will get this!

When everything else fails, you can make delicious food combining your staples with your fridge leftovers.

A block of mature Cheddar is always on hand in my fridge. If you are really strapped for time, I may turn a blind eye to readily grated cheese. Grated Mozzarella is also great (see what I did there? 😉)in this tortilla sandwich. I grate heaps of Cheddar cheese in waiting to layer my toasted tortilla sandwich.

Once the pan is moderately hot, brush it with a slick of olive oil and fry one tortilla for a few seconds then quickly turn it. This is so it doesn’t absorb all of the oil and the other side can get nice and golden too.

Make sure the heat is low enough, you don’t want to burn your lunch! Or smoke your house!

Now, for the spicy-ish beef chili con carne! Spread a good dollop of your leftover chili con carne, make sure to shred it so there are no lumps.

Then drape the grated cheese and add another tortilla. They only need a minute or so to melt and form an irresistible cheesy beauty. Carefully lift it and turn it with a wide spatula, the kind you would use to flip an omelette.

I add a little more olive oil here and move the tortilla sandwich around a bit so it does not end up dry and sad on one side.

Olive oil or butter?

Some recipes use butter instead of olive oil and that is fine too, but it’s much easier to burn the butter. Also, olive oil is healthy, you can never have too much. I have found out recently whilst listening to a podcast that extra virgin olive oil can be used in cooking, despite the myths about the smoking point being too low.

Top your tortilla sandwich

I suggest to cut the toasted tortilla sandwich on a wooden board. I use a pizza cutter wheel, but a sharp knife will do the trick.

If you have any patience, wait a few minutes for it to cool down slightly, the cheese will be very hot. A wedge of lime and a dollop of sour cream will compliment the beef chili con carne filling.

Or even better, a little guacamole and fresh salsa will transport you to the quirky taquerias in the heart of San Francisco.

If you made this, take a snapshot for your Insta, post and tag me https://www.instagram.com/candyflosie/😉