WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Spanish for “melted cheese,” queso fundido is a hearty table dip of melted Mexican cheese topped with roasted poblano peppers and crispy chorizo sausage. Hot from the oven, this gooey, bubbling dip is perfect served with tortilla chips or warm, soft tortillas. Authentic versions are made with queso de Oaxaca, a firm Mexican cheese similar to mozzarella and prized for its melting ability and salty tang. Cubing the cheese worked better than shredding it; it melted more evenly and released less oil. We also noticed that the cheese was best if pulled from the oven as soon as it was melted—if given the chance to overcook, it released more oil, which pooled on top of the cheese. As for the chorizo-poblano topping, we cooked the chorizo in a hot skillet to render the fat, then added thinly sliced poblano and continued to cook until their skins turned spotty brown. Finally, we added some thinly sliced onion to round out the flavors, and drained the mixture to prevent the topping from turning the dish greasy. We spooned the topping over the cubed cheese and, after only 10 minutes in the oven, our queso fundido turned out velvety smooth. If you can’t find fresh Mexican-style chorizo, chopped, cured Spanish-style may be substituted. While queso de Oaxaca makes an excellent queso fundido, we found that Monterey Jack is a perfectly acceptable (and more commonly available) substitute. Do not substitute pre-shredded Monterey Jack cheese; it is coated with anticaking agents that will cause the melted cheese to harden as soon as it is removed from the oven. Take care not to overcook the cheese or it will begin to leach oil.
Serves 6 to 8
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 4 ounces Mexican-style chorizo sausage, casings removed
- 1 poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin
- ½ small onion, sliced thin
- 8 ounces queso de Oaxaca, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 6 (8-inch) corn or flour tortillas, warmed and cut into wedges
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chorizo and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until fat begins to render, about 1 minute. Stir in poblano and onion and cook until chorizo and vegetables are well browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain chorizo mixture in colander.
- Spread queso Oaxaca evenly into 9-inch pie plate, then sprinkle with drained chorizo mixture. Transfer pie plate to oven and bake until cheese is just melted, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately with tortillas.
