Smoked whitefish quesadilla

Posted on by msgpubs

By Todd Marsee, MISG multimedia designer

Earlier this spring, we had a cold snap that went from 70 degrees down to 38. Soup weather! I stumbled across some smoked whitefish and used it to make our family’s modified Mackinac Whitefish Bisque from Wild Caught and Close to Home: Selecting and Preparing Great Lakes Whitefish. Instead of fresh lake whitefish, we like smoked lake whitefish. The recipe also calls for making a ragout and blending the soup — we often save time by skipping these steps.

A bowl of creamy whitefish soup paired with crispy toasted bread.
Our take on whitefish bisque, which saves on cooking time. Photo. Todd Marsee

We had a decent amount of leftover meat from the whole smoked whitefish. Do you ever open the fridge and see a few things that need to be eaten ASAP? This whitefish quesadilla recipe I later made for lunch is a great example of that!

The cooked quesadilla sits on a plate with corn chips next to a tub of locally made garlic dip.
It’s hard to go wrong with cheese and a toasty tortilla. Photo: Todd Marsee

I used two local ingredients: spinach from the farmers market and a garlic spread from Ypsilanti. I also used two regional ingredients: smoked whitefish from the Great Lakes and Cabot cheddar cheese made near Lake Champlain (home to one of our sister Sea Grant programs).

The cooked quesadilla is opened up to show the gooey melted cheese.
Gooey white cheddar cheese pairs well with savory smoked whitefish inside this quesadilla. Photo: Todd Marsee

Here are the components I used to assemble this quick and easy lunch:

Smoked whitefish quesadilla

Ingredients:

  • Large tortilla
  • Chopped onion
  • Shredded cheddar cheese
  • Spinach
  • Smoked whitefish
  • Garlic spread
  • Butter

Preparation:

  1. Place a tortilla on a plate. On one half of the tortilla, add shredded cheddar cheese, then chopped onion and spinach.
  2. Use a fork or your fingers to remove and break up some whitefish meat (see photo below). I use my fingers to feel for bones. Add the flaked whitefish on top of the cheese.
  3. On the other half of the tortilla, add garlic spread to taste. I try to find a balance that’s strong enough to be interesting without covering up the smoked whitefish flavor. Fold the tortilla in half over the ingredients to make a half-moon shape.
  4. Heat a skillet (we prefer cast iron). Once warm, add a pat of butter and spread it around in half of the pan — roughly the area that’ll be covered by your folded tortilla. Place the filled tortilla in the skillet and warm for about three minutes per side. Flip the quesadilla carefully to avoid spilling the ingredients into the pan (but if some fall out, just use a spatula to push them back in). Keep the heat fairly low and watch closely to avoid burning the tortilla.
  5. If you’d like, sprinkle some extra cheese near the edge of the tortilla so it can get nice and crispy (see below).
  6. Remove quesadillla from skillet and enjoy!
Todd uses a fork to remove flaky meat from the skeleton of a whole smoked whitefish.
I use the fork to remove the smoked meat from the fish, then flake it with my fingers to find the bones. Photo: Todd Marsee
A bit of crispy cooked cheese stick invitingly to the edge of the tortilla.
A little extra crispy cheddar cheese on the side is the perfect garnish for a quesadilla. Photo: Todd Marsee

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