Wild Mushroom Queso Fundido

Submitted by Stephanie Y.

"This appetizer of melted cheese is by Rick Bayless. You could also serve it for lunch. The time is an estimate and includes the time to let the mushrooms rehydrate."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 3⁄4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (or other wild)
• hot green chili pepper, stemmed (roughly 1 large jalapeà o or 2 serranos)
• 1 medium white onion
• 1 large ripe tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons beer, preferably a full-flavored beer like Mexico's Bohemia
• 8 ounces monterey jack cheese (you'll have about 2 cups) or 8 ounces chihuahua cheese, shredded (you'll have about 2 cups)
• 1 dozen warm corn tortillas or 1 dozen flour tortilla

directions

1. Rehydrate the mushrooms. Scoop the mushrooms into a small bowl, cover with boiling water, weight with a plate to keep the mushrooms submerged and let rehydrate for 20 minutes. Drain off the liquid, pressing on the mushrooms to remove all the water. Remove the stems. Chop into ¼-inch pieces.
2. Preparing the flavorings: Finely chop the chiles (seed them first if you wish), then chop the onion and tomato into ¼-inch pieces. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chiles, onion, tomato and mushrooms and cook, stirring nearly constantly, until the onion begins to soften and brown, 7 or 8 minutes. Add the beer and stir until the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is once again dry looking.
3. Finishing the queso fundido: Reduce the heat to medium-low, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the vegetables and stir slowly and constantly until just melted — too long over the heat and the cheese will become tough, oily and stringy. Immediately scoop into a warm serving dish (a small fondue dish with a tea light below is ideal) and serve with warm tortillas for making soft tacos.