Goat Cheese Queso Fundido with Roasted Green Chile Sauce and Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
Southwestern cheese dip
This dish found its way to almost every table at Mesa Grill. That includes the New York, Las Vegas, and Bahamas locations. It's a hot and bubbly cheese situation that I serve with an emulsified vinaigrette with roasted poblano chiles as its base.
Adapted from Bobby Flay: Chapter One
Ingredients
Crisp Fried Tortillas
- Neutral oil, such as avocado or canola, for deep-frying
- 4 (6-inch) blue corn tortillas, cut into triangles
- Kosher salt
Poblano Vinaigrette
- 2 poblano chiles
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 large garlic clove, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ cup neutral oil, such as avocado or canola
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Queso Fundido
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 3 cups)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces goat cheese, sliced into 8 rounds
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Make the fried tortillas: Fill a large cast-iron skillet halfway with oil and heat over medium-high heat to 375°F on a deep-fry thermometer. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet. Working in two batches, fry the tortillas, flipping them occasionally, until the edges begin to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transter the tortillas to the wire rack and season immediately with salt. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Make the vinaigrette: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the poblanos on a baking sheet and roast, turning, until charred and blistered, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and allow to steam for about 5 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, peel, seed, and coarsely chop the chiles.
- In a blender, combine the roasted poblanos, vinegar, garlic, honey, and oil and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Make the queso fundido: Set an oven rack in the highest position and preheat the broiler.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until evenly combined, about 1 minute. While whisking, slowly add the milk and cook, whisking, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Monterey Jack. Add ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste.
- Scrape the cheese mixture into an 8-inch cast-iron Skillet and arrange the goat cheese rounds on top. Broil until golden brown in spots, about 7 minutes. Drizzle with the vinaigrette (you may not need all of it) and sprinkle with the cilantro. Serve with the fried tortillas.
Notes
- obviously, it's much easier to just buy tortilla chips
- I prefer to add some cheddar for a little more flavour in the base