Quesadillas with Mexican Salsa Verde

I love recipes that are so simple they’re hardly a recipe at all – where great produce and flavours shine and I don’t have to do too much. That’s what these simple fried cheese sandwiches are all about, especially served with vibrant green salsa verde. Salsa verde simply means ‘green sauce’ and this Mexican version is creamy with ground pepitas; it keeps for a week in the fridge and is delicious on just about everything, especially eggs. In Mexico quesadillas are cooked on a traditional clay or cast-iron comal, but you can use a frying pan or char-grill pan. Quesadillas with salsa verde make a delicious breakfast, starter or snack at any time of day; I love them with a glass of flinty Soumah Savarro with its citrus tang and hint of spice. Oaxaca cheese, a firmer cousin to Italian mozzarella, can be hard to come by in Australia, thankfully stretched-curd specialists Vannella make a great version. Scatter leftover pepitas over roast pumpkin with an Italian salsa verde (see video below).

Serves 6 as a starter