Our friend Armando first exposed us to queso fundido at Nuevo Leon. With rIAm’s family, we had more at Mi Tierra. rIAm went gaga over the version at La Taqueria Superrica. It was still good at El Jardin. So when I came home with some poblanos and the idea we could make our own version, it didn’t take much convincing. And all I can say is this: holy crap this tastes good. And it’s pretty darn easy.
Our version went a little something like this, but it can be modified quite easily to suit your tastes.
4 poblanos*, stems & seeds removed
2 hot peppers* (e.g. jalepeno, serrano, etc)
2-4 additional small peppers* (we used several grown in our garden that aren’t sweet, but aren’t really hot either. If you like bell peppers, adding one in place of these would be nice too)
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or put through a press
1 medium white onion (or 2 small), roughly chopped
2 medium tomatoes* (or 1 15oz. can of tomatoes), diced
2 ears cooked corn, cut from cob
2 cups Chihuahua cheese (or other melting cheese)
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil (we used grapeseed oil)
salt to taste
2-4 oz. tequila (optional, but recommended!)
*Note: We left the skins on all of these ingredients, and this recipe reflects that choice. The next time we make the dish, we would take the time to roast and remove the skins. This would be a bit nicer to eat, bring out extra flavor of the ingredients, and then take less time in the pan to cook.
Heat oil in a large, heavy pan, on medium to medium-high heat (we used our nice All-Clad saute pan with great success). When the oil is hot add the poblanos and other peppers (if you’ve pre-roasted the peppers, don’t add the peppers until later). Saute the peppers until they are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and saute until the onion begins to soften. Now add the garlic and mix in, along with some salt. Add half the tomatoes, another pinch of salt, and let the tomatoes cook down. Add the corn with another pinch of salt and mix well. Saute, stirring infrequently, for several minutes. Add the rest of the tomatoes and let them cook down.
Let the mixture lightly brown on the bottom and then stir and repeat. Add the tequila, being sure to use the liquor to deglaze the pan (as long as you’re not using a non-stick pan). Let the tequila cook off and the flavor to be taken in by the ingredients. Add the cheese, stirring it all around and then simply letting it melt into the dish. Once the cheese is melted, you are ready to serve. We made delicious tacos, sprinkled with some chopped cilantro, but it would be just as good served with tortilla chips.
We left ours in the hot pan while we ate, making each taco as we were ready to eat it. With a heavy pan this works well. To use a serving dish, I recommend warming the dish in the oven while cooking. Take the dish out of the oven just before serving and transfer the cheesy mixture to the warm serving dish, and it will keep the food warm and nicely melted.
Buen provecho!
