Super cheesy: homemade marinated goat cheese and quesadillas

There's no such thing as too much cheese. You'll be addicted to these people-pleasing recipes.

How do you make a good thing even better? In the case of goat cheese, you marinate it yourself in herb-infused olive oil. You can buy marinated goat cheese, but this is easy and made to your own taste.

Makes one cheese

• 90 to 125 g (3 to 4 oz) goat cheese
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) mixed peppercorns (black, white, pink, green)
• 0.5 ml (1/8 tsp) coriander seed, crushed
• Fresh thyme sprigs
• Fresh rosemary sprigs
• Fresh fennel sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small red chili pepper
• 1 garlic clove
• 125 ml (1/2 c) olive oil

  1. In a warm, sterilized wide-mouthed jar, centre the goat cheese. Tuck the peppercorns, coriander seed, thyme, rosemary and fennel sprigs, bay leaf, chili pepper and garlic around the cheese.

  2. Pour in the olive oil until the top of the oil is six millimetres (1/4 inch) from the rim of the jar. Wipe the rim, cover the jar, and label and date it. Store the cheese in the refrigerator for up to one month; the cheese will be ready for eating in one week.

You can serve a quesadilla as a lunch dish or use a pizza cutter to cut it into small triangles and arrange on a plate with sour cream and guacamole as an appetizer.

Makes four servings

• 4 (20 cm/8 in) flour tortillas
• 250 g (1c) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 large red pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 6 mm (1/4 in) slices
• 50 g (1/4 c) cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
• 3 scallions with tops, thinly sliced
• 50 g (1/4 c) chopped fresh cilantro
• 50 ml (1/4 c) fresh or prepared salsa
• Sour cream, plain yogurt or guacamole (optional)

  1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Place each tortilla on a 30 centimetre (12 inch) square of foil. Sprinkle each tortilla with the cheese, red pepper, corn, scallions, cilantro and salsa, dividing the toppings equally. Moisten the edges of one tortilla and fold in half, encasing the toppings; press the edges together. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

  2. Move a folded tortilla so it is centred on the top half of the foil square. Fold in each side edge of the foil over the quesadilla. Fold the bottom half of the foil up and over the quesadilla until the top and bottom foil edges are even; fold the edges together twice to make a packet. Repeat with the remaining quesadillas. Arrange the foil-wrapped quesadillas on a baking sheet.

  3. Bake the quesadillas until the cheese melts, about seven minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, unwrap each quesadilla and arrange it on a plate or serving platter. If desired, garnish with a dollop of sour cream, plain yogurt or guacamole.