Charred Corn Quesadillas with Guajillo Honey

For me, summer cooking is all about simplicity. The lulling heat makes every action become a little more leisurely, no need to overcomplicate things. This recipe features only a handful of ingredients — fresh summer corn, charred to enhance it’s sweetness, mild, stretchy Oaxaca cheese and a drizzle of honey that has the subtlest hint of warming spice and fruity qualities of guajillo chile.

I’ve written this recipe for the grill, and while you could certainly adapt it by charring the corn on a gas range, I really recommend doing the whole thing outside while the late afternoon sun washes over you. There’s a smokiness that can’t be easily replicated indoors, and anyway, sometimes cooking is just as much about the experience as it is the end result.

I made these quesadillas for dinner the other night and paired them with carne asada, grilled spring onions, and my mom’s rice and beans. While I can’t give you the recipe for the latter, I did use this one from Serious Eats with minor adaptions for the carne asada and really enjoyed it.

Makes: 6

Active time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 ears of fresh corn, shucked

• Neutral oil

• 1 guajillo chile

• 1/4 cup honey

• 8oz oaxaca cheese, hand-shredded

• Six 6” flour tortillas

• Flaky salt

1. Light a charcoal grill, building up one side more than the other so you have a hot zone and a cooler zone. Lightly brush the corn with neutral oil and place on the hot side of the grill, rotating as needed to get a good char on all sides. I’m talking some real blackened patches, not a light toast. Remove to a cutting board and let cool slightly before cutting the kernels off the cob holding it horizontally against the board (this way the kernels don’t fly everywhere).

   

2. Heat a carbon steel or cast iron griddle or large pan set over the hot side of the grill. Dry toast the guajillo chile until pliable and lightly fragrant, just a minute or two. Using kitchen sheers, snip the stem off and discard. Snip the chile into 1/2” pieces into a small sauce pan, add the honey, and set it over the cooler side of the griddle to warm and infuse as you work on the quesadillas.

3. If your tortillas are soft and pliable, you can assemble the quesadillas right away. If they’re prone to cracking, warm each of them for about 30 seconds on the griddle or pan. Divide the corn and oaxaca cheese up among the 6 tortillas, covering one half of each and folding them over to close. Brush your griddle or pan with a bit of neutral oil and add as many quesadillas as can fit, pressing on them with a spatula to make strong contact with the pan. Cook until toasty and browned, 1-3 minutes depending on how hot your grill is. Flip and repeat on the other side. Remove to a plate and repeat in batches until all the quesadillas are cooked.

4. Top the quesadillas with flaky salt and a drizzle warm guajillo honey, avoiding the large pieces of chile. Enjoy!