Cooking the books: Wahaca

It’s time for Cooking the books!

To recap, this is something I came up with to try and make better use of my huge collection of cookbooks. The concept is simple – every month I ask my social media followers to vote for one of three books from my collection. Once a winner has been picked I select a recipe at random from the winning book, I make it and then I blog it!

August’s winning book was Wahaca: Mexican food at home by Thomasina Miers. It’s been on my shelves for quite a while now and I’ve cooked a couple of things from it before but nothing recently.

The recipe: Queso Fundido with Chorizo

A gooey, cheesy fondue delight which is perfect for scooping onto tortillas, wraps, chips, carrot sticks, your hands… Pretty much anything! It’s one that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise made too, given that on the surface it looks and sounds pretty simple. I’m glad I did though as it was mighty tasty and we polished the lot off very fast!

Ingredients:

Serves 6 as a starter

• 3 large plum tomatoes
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 165g chorizo (skinned & roughly chopped)
• 1 small white onion, finely diced
• 2 sticks of celery, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt & pepper
• 3 tbsp tequila
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• 2 tsp roughly chopped oregano
• 125g mozzarella cheese, grated or torn
• 75g cheddar cheese, grated

Warm tortillas to serve.

Method:

Preheat the oven 180c / 350f /gas 4

• Peel and dice the tomatoes into small cubes.
• Heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and add the oil and chorizo. Cook for 5 minutes to let the chorizo release its oils and begin to soften.
• Add the onion, celery, garlic and cumin and cook for 10 minutes (or until the onion is softened).
• Season with salt and pepper and add the tequila, tomatoes and puree and cook until most of the moisture has evaporated and you are left with a thick ragu chorizo sauce.
• Add the oregano and check the seasoning.
• Spread the mixture in the bottom of a gratin dish (or similar like I did).
• Mix the two kinds of cheese together and sprinkle them on top of the chorizo ragu.
• Place into the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted. You could also do this under the grill.
• Serve with warm tortillas.

The verdict? Bloody gorgeous! 

Want more Mexican recipes? 

Try my spicy mushroom enchiladas or this warming beef stew from Tom Parker Bowles.

Alternatively, if you want to see more Cooking the Books posts, here’s a selection to whet your appetite:

• July Cooking the Books: curried aubergine from Honestly Healthy
• June Cooking the Books: pear, native nape, hazelnut, cardamom and ewe’s cheese salad from The Ethicurean
• February Cooking the Books: pasta with kale, anchovies and chilli