(Semi) Cuban Quesadillas

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I’m calling these “semi” Cuban because I know my Blogmate,(is that a word? It is now.) Emily, is a big fan of Cuban sandwiches, and theseare definitely not authentically Cuban. I don’t want Emily coming after meCuban-style. That wouldn’t end well. So anyway, these are in the style of Cubansandwiches, just in a quesadilla form and I found the recipe on a blog calledCulinary Colleen. The ingredients are simple, a tasty marinated pork, wholegrain mustard, pickled jalapenos, Gruyere cheese and prosciutto. My husband,who is also a Cuban sandwich fan, liked these a lot, particularly the pork,which was flavorful and citrusy. For me… I’m not sure it’s a flavor combinationthat is totally in my wheelhouse, but that’s certainly not to say it wouldn’tbe in yours.

Ingredients4 cloves garlic mincedJuice of 2 limesJuice of 1 large orange2 tsp. cumin1 tsp. coarse salt1 tsp. fresh black pepper1.5 pounds pork tenderloin 2 Tbsp. olive oil4 flour tortillas4 slices prosciutto4 oz. grated gruyere cheesePickled jalapenosMustard
Start with your marinade. Mix your garlic, lime juice,orange juice, cumin, salt and pepper in a gallon freezer bag (or your favoritemarinating dish). Add in your pork and marinate for up to 4 hours. We actuallycouldn’t find a pork tenderloin that would be reasonable for two people, so wejust got thinly sliced pork chops on the bone and marinated those. If you gowith a thinner sliced pork, you don’t need to marinate it for quite as long.
Heat your oil in a skillet over medium high heat and thenbrown the pork on all sides, which should only take a few minutes. Then cook inon a broiler pan at 350 degrees. A tenderloin should take about 20 minutes orso. Ours was done in ten. Slice the pork into quesadilla size slices.
Now, to assemble your quesadilla. Do NOT do what I did andthink you can save time by making a two tortilla quesadilla. It just doesn’thold together at all. The easiest way is to use one tortilla and fold it over.For some reason, this method held it all together much better. So fill half thetortilla with pork, cover it with a slice of prosciutto, a good number ofpickled jalapenos (spread them out) and a sprinkling of Gruyere. For some reason,the only Gruyere I can find is smoked, which I do not like. So I used Gruyerefor my husband but sharp white cheddar for myself. Anyway, spread the otherhalf of the quesadilla with some nice mustard, and then fold over.
Heat your skillet (which you’ve wiped out since browning thepork), and put in the quesadilla with the cheese side down. I find that thismelts the cheese faster and helps the whole thing hold together better. Cookuntil the cheese is melted and both sides are nice and browned (usually about3-4 minutes a side). Then slice your quesadilla in half and serve! It may beonly semi Cuban, but it’s wholly delish!