Mexico · 35 min · Meat · Starter · For beginners
Queso Fundido
For 6 servings · US units
Molten cheese with spicy chorizo, straight from the oven onto warm tortillas
Queso fundido simply means "melted cheese," and that's exactly what lands on the table here, bubbling away in the dish: cheese that stretches into long strings, crumbly, well-seasoned chorizo and a little jalapeño heat. It comes from northern Mexico and is just right for chilly autumn and winter evenings. Scoop it up with warm corn or flour tortillas or tortilla chips, and you've got a proper meal for sharing.
Ingredients
- 15¾ ozcheesegood melting cheese, shredded, e.g. Oaxaca, Monterey Jack, Chihuahua or mozzarella
- 5¼ ozfresh Mexican chorizo, casing removed, crumbledFresh, raw pork sausage seasoned with chile and vinegar, cooked out of its casing until crumbly, not the dry-cured Spanish kind.Substitute: The closest substitute is raw ground pork seasoned with ground ancho or guajillo chile, a little vinegar, garlic, cumin and oregano, left to rest for a few hours. Spanish chorizo, finely chopped and fried, will do in a pinch, but it brings smoke instead of tang and stays in firm bits rather than crumbling.Read more
- 2¾ ozonionwhite, finely chopped
- 2 clovesgarlicminced
- 1 tbspoilfor sautéing; or chorizo fat
- 1seeded, finely diced; pickled also worksMedium-sized green chilli from Mexico, thick-fleshed and juicy, with a fresh, moderate heat.Substitute: Other fresh green chillies of medium heat work well, such as serrano, which is somewhat hotter, or sturdy green chillies from an Asian grocer used more sparingly. Mild Turkish long green peppers give a similar freshness but little heat.Read more
- 1tomatoesdiced, cooked in or as topping
- 2 tbspchopped, for garnishThe fresh leaves of the coriander plant, with a bright, citrusy and slightly peppery taste.Substitute: There is no true substitute. Flat-leaf parsley, perhaps with a little lime zest, adds colour and green freshness but not cilantro's distinctive citrusy note.Read more
- 12corn or flour tortillas, warmed; or tortilla chipsThin flatbreads made from corn masa or wheat flour, cooked on a griddle; in Mexico the word usually means corn tortillas.Substitute: Wheat tortillas work at a pinch but are softer, blander and lack the characteristic corn flavour; ordinary cornmeal or polenta will not make corn tortillas, because without nixtamalization it does not form a dough that holds together.Read more
- 1seeded, sliced or roasted and diced (optional)A large, dark green, heart-shaped Mexican chili with thick walls, usually mild to medium hot and almost always roasted and peeled before use.Substitute: Anaheim or Hatch chilies come closest, being similarly mild and fleshy, though with somewhat thinner walls. A green bell pepper, roasted and peeled, holds its shape for stuffing but tastes sweeter and flatter; adding a jalapeño restores the heat, but not the earthy depth of the poblano.Read more
- 2 tspOreganodried (optional)
- 1 tbspchopped or as chipotle sauce (optional)Smoked, dried jalapeños packed in a dark, sweet-sour sauce of tomato, vinegar and spices, smoky and properly hot.Substitute: Dried chipotles, soaked and blended with a little tomato paste and a splash of vinegar, come closest; at a pinch, smoked paprika and a little cayenne with tomato paste give smoke and heat, but not the fleshy texture or the sweet-sour depth of the sauce.Read more
- 2 tbsptequilato deglaze before adding cheese (optional)
- saltto taste
Method
- Preheat the ovenPreheat the oven to 180–390 °F (350–400 °F), or turn on the broiler.
- Brown the chorizoSqueeze the chorizo out of its casing, crumble it and fry it in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crumbly. Lift it out and pour off the excess fat; you can leave a little in the pan to use instead of the oil.
- Soften onion and chilesHeat the oil or chorizo fat in the skillet and cook the onion with the jalapeño, and the poblano pepper if you're using it, until soft.
- Add garlic and aromaticsAdd the garlic and, if you like, the oregano and fry briefly until fragrant. If you're using tequila, deglaze the skillet with it now.
- Combine and season the fillingReturn the chorizo to the skillet, stir in some of the diced tomatoes if you like, and let everything cook together for a minute or two. Season with salt.
- Layer cheese and chorizoSpread half of the shredded cheese in an ovenproof dish or a cast-iron skillet, spoon the chorizo mixture over it and finish with the rest of the cheese on top.
- Bake and warm the tortillasBake until the cheese has melted completely and turned lightly golden. Meanwhile, warm the tortillas.
- Garnish and serve hotScatter the remaining diced tomatoes and the chopped cilantro over the queso fundido and serve piping hot with the warm tortillas or tortilla chips.
Tips and variations
If you love a crispy edge, slide the dish under the broiler until the cheese is browned and crunchy around the rim. For the gentlest melt, cover the dish and set it in a water bath in the oven instead. For smoky heat, stir 1 tablespoon chopped chipotles in adobo into the skillet along with the garlic (step 4). A version without chorizo cooks the onion, jalapeño and garlic as described, deglazes them with the tequila and then melts the cheese with a little chicken bouillon powder right in the skillet on the stovetop. A pot version stirs the cheese smooth with a mix of cream and milk and some processed cheese, and brings in its heat with Hatch chiles. Serving tip: put the dish straight on the table and dig in right away, because the cheese is at its best while it still pulls into strings.
Allergens
Contains: Milk (including lactose)
May contain if you use the optional ingredients: Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
