Q.E.D.: Charred Corn, Heriloom Tomato, and Arugula Quesadilla

The old saying "necessity is the mother of invention" is never more true than in cooking. This dish came about because I had three things in my fridge that I suddenly had no use for: tomatoes, wheat tortillas, and arugula. I'd rather not let food go to waste (I'm not die-hard about it, but hey, money's money), so I came up with a way to use them all together.

Notes: I make the charred corn by setting the ears directly on my gas burner. They pop and hiss, but worry not, that's normal. Just keep turning them until the outside is nice an brown. If you don't have a gas stove, just omit this step.

You want to be careful not to overstuff the quesadilla. Make sure everything is in a nice thin and even layer.

If you cut these into smaller triangles, they might work as a nice cocktail party food. The recipe makes 4 quesadillas.

Ingredients:
2 ears of corn
2 small heirloom tomatoes (you can use Roma, too)
1 small bunch of arugula (about 2 cups), washed and dried
8 whole wheat tortillas (I had 10-inch)
2 cups grated cheese (I found a nice aged English cheddar on sale)
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Shuck the corn and discard the husks, leaving the stalk in tact. If you're charring the corn, turn your gas burner on high and set the ears on top while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Turn occasionally.

Dice the tomatoes and put them in a strainer to let some of the liquid drain off. Grate the cheese (if you're not using pre-shredded).

Heat the oven to 400. Once the corn is charred, strip the kernels off, mix with the tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the quesadillas, put a wheat tortilla on a baking sheet (you can fit two quesadillas on one normal sized baking sheet). Spread it with 1/4 of the arugula. Top with about 2 tablespoons of the corn and tomato mixture. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the cheese. Top with another tortilla. Repeat this process for all four quesadillas.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes and then flip and bake for an additional 8 minutes or so. The cheese should be melted and the quesadillas will start to brown and crisp.

Enjoy Q.E.D. quesadillas any night of the week!