Meet one of my favorite brunch recipes: Smoked salmon quesadillas. Smoked salmon, goat-cheese, basil and lemon zest are sandwiched between crisp toasted tortillas. They are easy to throw together for a crowd, tempting to behold and most importantly, they're absolutely scrumptious!

Whenever I host a brunch the first thing I think about is flavor. My second concern is logistics. The goal, when hosting, is to make the most delicious food possible and still be able to enjoy the festivities (not in the kitchen!)

That's why I love these quesadillas so much. They take a bit more work than the classic salmon bagel and cream cheese platter, but you can do all of the prep work in advance and they are festive and flavorful - a real crowd-pleaser.

The recipe comes from a fun cookbook called Radically Simple, by Rozanne Gold. It's a simple and straight forward recipe, as are most of the recipes in the book.

I made a couple of minor tweaks. I upped the goat cheese to cream cheese ratio and I devised a preparation strategy that works well if you're cooking for a crowd.

HOW TO MAKE SMOKED SALMON QUESADILLAS FOR A CROWD

If you're cooking brunch for a large group of people, you probably don't want to be standing over the stove, browning tortillas after your guests arrive. Here's how to prep these quesadillas ahead so you can enjoy your guests:

Brown all the tortillas ahead of time.
Once the tortillas are cool, lay out half of them and top with all the fixings: goat cheese, cream cheese, smoked salmon, basil and lemon zest.
Add another toasted tortilla on top
Set the assembled smoked salmon quesadillas on baking trays and cover lightly with saran or foil.
Just before serving, remove the saran/foil and pop them into a preheated oven to warm.
Slice into triangles using a pizza cutter and arrange on a platter.

When you take your first crisp bite, as you experience the mingling of minty basil, sharp lemony zest, tangy, creamy goat cheese and salty smoky salmon, it might just be love at first bite. It was for me!

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Here's the recipe for Smoked Salmon Quesadillas with Goat Cheese. If you try this recipe, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think.

Recipe

Smoked Salmon Quesadillas with Goat Cheese

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5 from 6 reviews

Author: Panning The Globe
Total Time: 31 mins
Yield: 4-6 1x

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Description

Crisp quesadillas stuffed with goat cheese, smoked salmon, lemon and basil. Perfect for brunch!

Ingredients

Scale

8 flour tortillas (8-inch)
6 ounces goat cheese, from a log
4 ounces whipped cream cheese
8 ounces smoked salmon, sliced into 1-inch strips
½ cup slivered basil leaves, plus extra for sprinkling on top
Zest of 1 large lemon
Vegetable oil for sautéing

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Instructions

Assemble Quesadillas Preheat oven to 225ºF. In a medium sized bowl stir cream cheese and goat cheese until thoroughly combined. Set 4 tortillas out on the counter. Spread each tortilla with ¼ of the goat cheese mixture. Evenly distribute the salmon slices, basil and lemon zest. Cover each with a second tortilla and press down gently.
Cook Quesadillas Heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium-high heat in a large cast iron or non-stick skillet. (for speed, work with two skillets) Place a quesadilla in the skillet and cook for about 2 minutes, until crisp and golden brown on the bottom. Flip quesadilla and brown on the other side. Transfer the quesadilla to a large baking sheet in the oven, to keep warm while you cook the remaining quesadillas. Slice quesadillas into quarters with a pizza cutter, and arrange on a platter.
Optional garnish Sprinkle slivered basil over the quesadillas

Notes

Top Tip:

Cooking for a crowd: If you're doubling or tripling this recipe, you'll want to do some prep ahead. Brown all the tortillas on just one side. When they're cool, lay half of them out a flat surface, brown side down. Spread the goat cheese mixture on the top (uncooked side) and assemble the fillings on top. Cover with another tortilla, browned side up, pressing down gently. Place all the assembled quesadillas on baking trays. Just before serving, pop them in a 250F preheated oven for about 10 minutes, to heat them through. For extra crispness you can turn on the broiler for the last minute or so of heating. Watch carefully and constantly so they don't burn. Slice into wedges, pile onto a platter and serve warm, topped with slivered basil.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 16 mins
Category: Breakfast or Brunch
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

Smoked Salmon Quesadillas with Goat Cheese

HOW TO MAKE SMOKED SALMON QUESADILLAS FOR A CROWD

Recipe