It's stone fruit season! Celebrate with cheese! Wrap the season's juiciest peaches, plums or cherries in a flour tortilla with cheese, jalapeno, bacon, and a red onion jam. The combo may be unexpected, but I promise it is sweet, salty, gooey, and a little spicy. Just what we all want in our quesadillas, right?
We all know peaches and bacon are friends, but what about cheese? I was really craving some quesadillas, and then I went to the store and the piles of stonefruit were so fragrant it was distracting, so I thought, why not have both?
I sliced the peaches super thin and layered them in a flour tortilla with some shredded muenster, which is my favorite melting cheese. Then I just added on. Bacon, jalapeno, thyme, and even a red onion jam I had sitting in the fridge. It all went so well together I had to snap some photos to share.
In the end, I think what I love about these the most is they aren’t just cheese bombs. The cheese acts as more of a binder to keep everything together. The juices from the peaches mingle with the jalapeno and the salty bacon, and the red onion jam enhanced the sweetness while adding some acid. You could serve these with some sour cream or yogurt and a squeeze of lime if you must, but I think they were perfectly craveable just as is.
Peach Quesadillas
Makes 8 quesadillas
For the quesadillas:
2 peaches, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded muenster
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
3 slices bacon, fried until crispy and chopped into small bits
fresh thyme
red onion jam (I used this one I had made from Martha)
8 flour tortillas (storebought or homemade to really take these to another level)
Heat a heavy skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat.
Assemble quesadillas: start with some cheese on one half of your tortilla, then sprinkle with some of the bacon and thyme. Lay 3 peach slices across the cheese, then lay on jalapeno, then a bit of the onion jam. Sprinkle with more cheese and transfer to the skillet.
Let sit open faced for a minute while the tortilla warms up, then fold over the uncovered half over the filling, to form a half-moon shape. Lay something over top like a pot lid, to press the tortilla down and create a bit of steam to help melt the cheese. When the bottom is nice and golden and crispy, flip the quesadilla, then cook until golden on the bottom, covered with the pot lid.
Repeat with remaining ingredients, cut each quesadilla into wedges, and serve hot!