Grilled Alaskan Cod & Pineapple Salsa Quesadillas

Alright friends, it’s time for the second appetizer for the Foodbuzz Festival as part of my partnering with Alaskan Seafood! (If you missed it, the first recipes was the Garlic Lime Alaskan Cod with Chipotle Crema Small Bites.)

One of the fish recipes I made last year was grilled halibut with pineapple salsa. It was delicious. But I think I’ve created something even better using that same concept…

Quesadillas are great appetizers: easy to handle, simple to prepare and tasty. I’ve never heard of a fish quesadilla nor tried one but thought it might work.  I used Alaskan cod (although halibut would still work) and used the pineapple salsa as part of a filling in the quesadilla. I wasn’t sure if cheese would pair well with pineapple and fish, but it did. Quite well, actually.

Grilled Alaskan Cod & Pineapple Salsa Quesadillas

• 3 (8-ounce) cod fillets
• 1 T canola oil

PINEAPPLE SALSA

• 1/2 small pineapple, peeled and cut into 1-inch thick rings
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 small jicama, peeled and finely diced
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 fresh serrano pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
• 3 T rice vinegar
• 2 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 T finely chopped basil
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

QUESADILLA FIXIN’S

• 8 flour tortillas
• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1. Heat your grill to medium-high (I just used a stove-top grill pan). Place the pineapple rings on the hot grill and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.

2. Roast your red bell pepper. You can do this do ways: if you have a gas oven, just hold it over the flame of one of your burners until each side is black and charred brown. If you don’t have gas burners, turn your oven broiler to high and place the pepper on a baking sheet on the 2nd to highest rack in your oven. Cook under the broiler until each side has turned black and the skin looks crackly. This took me about 3 minutes per side.

3. After the red pepper is charred on all sides, remove from the pan, place in a bowl and cover for 10 minutes.

4. While your pepper cools, dice the pineapple, removing the core from each ring.

5. Combine all other ingredients with the pineapple in a medium-sized bowl.

6. Remove the charred skin from your bell pepper. Slice open and remove the seeds. Finely dice and add to the bowl with the rest of the salsa ingredients.

(Look familiar?)

7. For the cod, preheat a grill pan to medium-high heat. Brush each side of the fillets with the oil.

10. Place the cod in the hot pan and sear on one side for 4 minutes. Flip to the other side and cook just until the fish flakes. It’s OK if it still looks moist. In fact, you want that! Dry, rubbery fish is icky.

11. Remove the fish to a plate and flake into pieces.

11. Preheat a clean sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place one tortilla on the pan and top with cheese. Let melt and then place enough cod over the cheese so that you’d get cod in every bite.  Spoon some of the pineapple salsa on top of the cod. Add a little more cheese on top of the salsa and place a second tortilla on top. Very carefully flip to warm the other side to melt the second layer of cheese and brown the other tortilla.(Ignore the fact that this picture shows only half the tortilla being covered. I used only one tortilla since I was making it just for me. It’ll be faster to use two tortillas, covering the entire bottom tortilla and topping with another tortilla if you are making this for a crowd.)

12. Remove to a plate and slice into triangles. Continue the process until all the fish and salsa has been used.

Serve to your friends and enjoy!

P.S. It’s Maizey’s birthday today! She partied at doggy daycare to celebrate. They even gave her a birthday card and a present. So cute. I’ve given her lots of extra treats, scratches, cuddles and even let her lick my dinner plate. 🙂