Ring in fall with Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Cambozola Quesadillas!
Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Camba…. what Quesadillas? Cambozola® baby!
This is not a sponsored post, I’m just a huge fan of this cheese! Cambozola® is an amazing German cheese that is part brie and part blue cheese. In fact, it’s often referred to as a “blue brie.”
I guess I’m somewhat fascinated with anything German right now because, in just a few days, we’re heading off to Germany, Austria and Switzerland for a two-week Rick Steves’ tour in celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary.
Have loved Rick Steves since the days of Rick Steves’ Europe on PBS. Back when I was single and living in Milwaukee, I used to watch it every Saturday morning, living vicariously through him. I so wanted to travel, but boohoo, had no one to travel with. How that’s all changed!
Anyway, let’s get back to this wonderful cheese!
It’s got all the creaminess of brie with the tanginess and delicious yet very delicate “bite” of a blue cheese. Needless to say, it pairs beautifully with sweet butternut squash and caramelized onions!
Caramelizing onions is a labor of love. I like to start off with lots of fat in the pan, cover slightly until they begin to soften up, then let the onions go for an hour or for however long they take. It’s something that really should not be rushed. Sure, there are little tricks like adding sugar and I’ve even heard about baking soda to speed up the process. Sorry butno baking soda in my onions, please! When they’re beautiful and golden, I then drain off the excess fat. Season with salt halfway through the process and you have gorgeous and flavorful caramelized onions!
Piled into whole grain tortillas and then browned until crisp is the perfect way to enjoy this combination!
Let’s eat!
Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Cambozola Quesadillas
Ingredients
- INGREDIENTS
- SQUASH FILLING
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (about 4 cups)
- 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced thick
- 10 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ONIONS
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter or ghee
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
- salt, to taste
- QUESADILLAS
- 4 (10-inch) whole wheat tortillas
- 1 small wedge Cambozola cheese (about 1/4 pound), rind removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
- INSTRUCTIONS
- SQUASH FILLING
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss butternut squash cubes, onion, jalapeno peppers and garlic with olive oil. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes or until squash and onions are tender. Transfer to a bowl and mash with a potato masher. Set aside.
- ONIONS
- Heat butter and olive oil over medium-high in a large skillet or saute pan. Add the onions, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (With the cover on, the onions will get very soupy and wet.)
- Remove the cover, add salt to taste and continue cooking, stirring frequently for at least another 30 minutes or until the onions become golden to light brown in color. (It's important for the onions to "stick" a little bit here and there without burning as this helps them caramelize.) Transfer to a sieve for the excess fat to drain off.
- QUESADILLAS
- Spread equal amounts of the butternut squash filling on two of the four tortillas. Top with equal amounts of the caramelized onions, followed by evenly distributed bits of the Cambozola. Place remaining tortillas over the filling, pressing slightly to adhere. Alternately, place equal amounts on one half of each tortilla, folding the other half over creating four half-moon shapes.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet or griddle. Brown the filled tortillas 3 to 4 minutes per side.
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