Goat Cheese Fundido
| October 27, 2011 | Filled under Sauces & Dips, Sides, Snacks & Appetizers, Southwestern, Vegetables |
It’s getting cold out and that means it’s time to stay inside a little more. More sofa nights, more friends coming over for dinner or drinks, plus a solid fall season of prime time TV. And time for more delicious cheesy appetizers. This one is very different from my last post, being a little spicy and savoury, but it’s no less satisfying. Enter the yummy goat cheese fundido.
I discovered this fundido (Spanish for ‘melted cheese’) at Elote Cafe up in Sedona. It’s basically a warm homemade salsa topped with goat cheese on top, baked, and served with corn chips or folded up into warm soft tortillas. A tasty and hearty appetizer perfect for cold nights and best served with an ice-cold Margarita or Mexican beer. It’s a delicious and comforting alternative to the standard 7 layer dip and much easier to make.
This is super easy to whip up too – the ingredients just get some saute action before being topped with goat cheese and baked. You can totally prepare this ahead of time before your guests arrive and just pop in the oven to serve. While it’s baking, lightly pan fry the corn tortillas and place in a kitchen towel-lined plate to keep warm. You can serve with some with some crispy corn tortilla chips too.
The jalapeno peppers add a nice bit of heat without being too spicy. Just remember to remove the seeds before adding. But if you want more fire, leave the seeds in. Either way, this fundido will be a huge hit like it was at my cousin Kim’s birthday fiesta. I only got a picture of it right before I served it and by the time I went back for more shots, it was gone-dido.
Recipe (served 4 as starter) Adapted from Elote Cafe Cookbook
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and sliced
- 1 cup chopped tomato
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 cup or 8 oz. goat cheese
- corn tortilla chips and soft corn tortillas for serving
Directions:
- In a medium non-stick saucepan or wok, heat oil on medium-high heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and jalapeno peppers until lightly browned, about 5 – 6 minutes. Add the tomato, salt and pepper and simmer until slightly thickened.
- Pre-heat oven to broil. Transfer the sauce into an oven-proof dish and crumble large chunks of the goat cheese on top of the dish. Place the dish in the oven and broil until the top is browned, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, pan fry the soft corn tortillas in a clean frying pan on medium heat. Place in a tortilla warmer or wrap in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm.
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