Caramelized Onion, Prosciutto and Fig Quesadilla
February 15, 2016 By Cathy — 8 CommentsYou need this gooey quesadilla filled with caramelized onions, prosciutto, arugula, gruyere and fig jam on your dinner table tonight!
I’ve professed my love for bread and cheese before and the quesadilla is another way to get my fix. It’s versatile, fast and satisfies my cheesy, carby cravings. Whenever I put together a cheese board, I need to put a little fruit on there. Sometimes it’s grapes or pears, others times it’s quince paste or fig jam. This quesadilla is like my favorite cheeseboard…salty prosciutto, nutty gruyere and a smear of fig jam. It’s got that perfect balance of salty and sweet sandwiched between two crispy flour tortillas.
As much as I love cheese, it’s really the caramelized onions that make these quesadillas special. They take just shy of a half hour to cook, but can be made in advance and stored in the frig until you’re ready to pull the quesadilla together. The onions are what Italians call agrodolce thanks to the addition of brown sugar and sherry vinegar and add a sweet and sour flavor to the dish. I love the complexity of these onions and outside of making a fantastic quesadilla , they can also be used as the base of hearty French onion soup, mixed into a savory dip or a used as a topping on a grilled chicken breast.
We’ll be enjoying these for a quick dinner tonight on the last day of our long weekend. We haven’t ventured out much since the temperatures have hovered just above freezing and we’re all experiencing a bit of cabin fever. So today we’re due for brisk walk, running some errands and an afternoon matinee. With these caramelized onions ready to go, dinner will be on the table in minutes. Cheesy, salty, jammy and easy…the perfect ending to our low key weekend.
- Caramelized Onions
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 large onions thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
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- Quesadillas
- 6 - 8 inch flour tortillas fajita size
- Olive oil
- Caramelized onions
- 8 oz gruyere cheese grated
- 1/4 lb prosciutto thinly sliced
- 2 cups arugula
- 3 Tbsp fig jam
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Caramelized Onions: Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over med/high heat.
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Add onions and season with salt.
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Cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are softened and beginning to brown.
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Add brown sugar and vinegar and stir well. Reduce heat to medium and cook until onions are a deep brown, about 10 minutes. Stir often to prevent sticking and burning.
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Quesadilla: Brush one side of each flour tortilla with olive oil.
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Place a tortilla oiled side down in a nonstick skillet and scatter with one third of each of the onions, cheese, prosciutto and arugula. Spread 1 Tbsp of the fig jam on the un-oiled side of another tortilla and place on top of the quesadilla, oiled side up.
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Place skillet over medium heat and cook until tortilla is golden brown, about 3 mins, and then carefully flip and continue to cook another 3 mins until quesadilla is golden brown and cheese is melted.
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Cut into quarters and serve.
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Repeat to make two more quesadillas.
Wow, this isn’t just some average quesadilla… this is a glorious, over the top delicious quesadilla, Cathy! Love EVERYTHING about this cheesy beauty! The flavor combination you have going on here has me drooling and wanting this for breakfast! Pinned! Cheers, friend!
Looking very scrumptious over there 🙂 For my blog I made a “fig and pig” grilled sandwich with fig jam and bacon that in the end I never published. This is a great spin on that! You inspired me to try it again 🙂
fig and pig? bacon and fig?! yes please! you must make it and post it!
Is there a way to grill these, maybe wrapped in foil? Would like to make ahead to bring to a party.
I’ve never grilled them, but you could try. I wouldn’t do it on foil because you won’t get that browned crust and it will likely stick. These are best served as soon as they’re made – probably not ideal to make ahead and bring to a party. The cheese won’t stay as gooey and wrapping them may make them a bit soggy. if the host of your party has oven space to rewarm them, that should work. if you give it a go and it’s a success, please let me know!