Brie Quesadilla with Agave
brie quesadilla with agave drip
Four ingredients and ten minutes. It reads like something somebody made at midnight and it is better than most things that take an hour.
Brie behaves nothing like cheddar in a pan. It goes liquid very fast and then it keeps going, so the heat stays medium and the tortilla comes off while the cheese is still molten rather than separated. Leave the rind on — it holds the slices together long enough to get the fold in.
The agave goes on after, over the cut wedges. Inside, it burns against the pan and turns to toffee.
- Makes
- 2
- Hands-on
- 10 minutes
- In the pan
- 6 minutes
- Agave
- After, never before
What you need
Everything
- 2 large flour tortillas
- 8 oz brie, sliced, rind on
- A handful of fresh herbs — coriander, thyme or oregano
- 2 tbsp agave syrup
- Coarse black pepper
- Flaky salt
- 1 tsp butter, for the pan
How it goes
1 — Slice the brie cold, rind on
Straight from the fridge, cut into slices about a quarter inch thick. Cold brie slices cleanly; room-temperature brie smears onto the knife.
2 — Lay it over half the tortilla only
Slices overlapping across one half with a clean border at the edge, so there is somewhere for it to go when it melts and it does not run out of the fold.
3 — Herbs on the cheese, pepper over
Whole leaves or roughly torn, laid on the brie, then a good grind of black pepper. The herbs go inside; nothing green goes in the pan on its own.
4 — Fold and griddle over medium, not high
Folded over, into a buttered pan over medium heat. Three minutes a side. Brie will turn liquid long before the tortilla is coloured if the heat is high.
5 — Press it lightly once per side
A spatula held down for a few seconds so the tortilla meets the cheese and takes an even colour. Not a hard press — that squeezes it out of the open edge.
6 — Rest a minute, then cut into wedges
Straight out of the pan it is liquid and it runs. A minute on the board and it holds, so the wedges keep their shape.
pro tip — Cut it with a sharp knife in one stroke rather than sawing, and the cheese stays in the wedge rather than dragging out of it.
7 — Agave over the wedges, then flaky salt
Drizzled across the top, then flaky salt. The salt is what keeps it from being a dessert and it is not optional.
Brie quesadilla with agave drip. Ten minutes, and it will become a habit. LFG.