Kimchi Avocado Quesadilla Recipe

Name: Kimchi Avocado Quesadilla
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter; 1 cup cabbage kimchi , drained and chopped; 2 (8-inch) flour tortillas; 1 1/2 cup grated Monterey jack and/or cheddar cheese; 1/2 medium avocado, peeled, pitted, sliced; A dash of lime juice; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

What's your go-to 15-minute make-it-from-what's-in-the-fridge recipe? Mine is a quesadilla. Any kind of quesadilla. You'll always find tortillas and cheese in my fridge. It's my PB&J.

The great thing about quesadillas? They're so easy to dress up! Whether it's with chicken and apples, mushrooms, green chiles, or in this case, kimchi—spicy Korean pickled cabbage.

A friend of mine mentioned recently that she had had a terrific kimchi quesadilla at a local eatery, and I thought, what a great idea, why not? I found a few references online, including Roy Choi's version of Kogi BBQ truck fame.

Kimchi Avocado Quesadillas — Elise Bauer

Wow, what a perfect combo! The spicy pickled cabbage goes great with buttery toasted flour tortillas and melted cheese.

I added avocado slices, because quesadillas are always better with avocados, some chopped parsley to brighten the flavors, and a splash of lime juice for the same reason.

So good!

Want to make your own tortillas? Try this recipe: Homemade Flour Tortillas

Kimchi Avocado Quesadilla

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Servings 2 servings

Yield 2 quesadillas

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cabbage kimchi, drained and chopped
2 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey jack and/or cheddar cheese
1/2 medium avocado, peeled, pitted, sliced
A dash of lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Sauté the kimchi:

Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a cast iron (or other relatively stick-free) pan on medium-high heat. Add the kimchi and spread out in an even layer over the pan. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, flipping halfway. Remove from pan.

Elise Bauer
Heat the flour tortilla:

Add half of the remaining butter to the pan and swirl it around on the bottom. Add one of the flour tortillas and flip it to coat both sides with a little butter.

Elise Bauer

The let it heat in the pan to the point that you see a few bubbles welling up in the center of the tortilla.
Add cheese and kimchi:

Add half of the grated cheese and half of the sautéd kimchi.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer

Fold the tortilla over (like an omelette) with a metal spatula. Press down with the spatula. After about 30 seconds or so, flip to the other side. The flour tortilla should be nicely browned.

When the cheese has clearly melted remove from pan and repeat with the other tortilla and the remaining cheese and kimchi.
Add avocado, lime juice, parsley:

Open up the quesadilla and lay slices of avocado over the kimchi. Sprinkle with a little lime juice and chopped fresh parsley or cilantro. Fold the quesadilla over again.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Cut into wedges to serve

Links:

David Lebovitz kimchi recipe

Kimchi recipe, delicious techniques from Marc of NoRecipes.com

Roy Choi's Kimchi Quesadillas on Serious Eats

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
644	Calories
46g	Fat
33g	Carbs
27g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories	644
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 46g	59%
Saturated Fat 25g	125%
Cholesterol 106mg	35%
Sodium 1215mg	53%
Total Carbohydrate 33g	12%
Dietary Fiber 5g	18%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 27g
Vitamin C 3mg	15%
Calcium 684mg	53%
Iron 4mg	24%
Potassium 413mg	9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.