Mushroom Queso Fundido
Sizzling and gooey, queso fundido topped with chorizo is a staple on Mexican restaurant menus across the country. But the dish likely stems from home cooks along North Mexico and South Texas. Depending on where you go, different cheeses like Monterey Jack, Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheeses are used. Bricia Lopez, an author of “Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling (Abrams, 2023)” and “Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico” (Abrams Books, 2019), and an owner at Guelaguetza, in Los Angeles, was inspired by the salsa de queso and quesillo she grew up eating at her family’s restaurant to create her version of queso fundido, which uses the Oaxaca cheese to create a great cheese pull. She also tops it with mushrooms and epazote (see Tip), a fresh herb she grew up eating with cheese. Christina Morales
Course
Makes
Be the first to log a make
No makes logged yet — log yours using the button above.
You may also like
Cardamom Coffee Banana Bread
Sheela Prakash · NYT Cooking
Adding cardamom to coffee is a well-loved practice throughout the Middle East and one that plays off each ingredient's traits. Sweet, floral cardamom mellows the acidity of coffee while coffee’s inherent bitterness keeps the peppery, menthol-like notes of the spice from overpowering. Here, the couple transforms a humble banana bread, perfuming it with extra warmth, while chopped dark chocolate adds richness. An optional coffee drizzle ensures this loaf is eye-catching but if you’d rather keep things simpler, sprinkle it with coarse turbinado sugar before baking to lend a touch of sparkle as well as pleasant crunch.
Fresh coriander sauce (Salsa de Cilantro)
Zarela Martinez · NYT Cooking
Fish tamales (Tamales de Pescado)
Zarela Martinez · NYT Cooking
Zarela Martinez's Ropa Vieja
Regina Schrambling · NYT Cooking
Sometimes the most humble ingredients make for the finest of meals, as Regina Schrambling wrote in 1988. Growing up in a tiny Arizona town among many Mexican neighbors, Ms. Schrambling learned early on of the rich flavors that can be coaxed from the simplest food. This ropa vieja, from the chef Zarela Martinez, embodies that philosophy. Garlic and peppercorns infuse a flank steak with flavor, which is then cooked shortly with a mixture of sautéed garlic, onions and poblano peppers. Hot, tucked into a tortilla, it’s a testament to the power of a long cook. Regina Schrambling
Oaxacan Yellow Mole Filling
Molly O’Neill · NYT Cooking
Oaxaca is the place where they invented mole sauce, "that perfect specimen of Mexican cooking," according to Ana M. de Benitez in "Pre-Hispanic Cooking." This is also where the natives carve wonderful mythological creatures and eat their tamales steamed in banana leaves (unlike anywhere else in Mexico). Molly O'Neill
Basic Tamales
Molly O’Neill · NYT Cooking
Molly O'Neill