There are some recipes from our books that we can’t help making over and over again for years. The RCB burrito, rosemary caramel corn from Party Grub, the salad with horseradish dressing and old bay croutons from Brave New Meal, we could go on and on. The Tex Mex queso from Fast as Fuck is arguably the recipe we make most frequently for guests and parties. It’s simple, damn delicious, and makes a fuckton. Hell, even dairy lovers ask us for this recipe, so it’s become our go-to for any worthwhile party . And if you go to a party that doesn’t have queso? Sweetie, we got some bad news for you. That’s not a party, it’s a motherfuckin get-together. So this week we thought we’d share the recipe for one of our favorites and show y’all our top secret- and possibly favorite way- to serve it.
Tex-Mex Queso
Makes about 8 cups
1 tablespoon olive or safflower oil
1 shallot, chopped or ¼ cup chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 starchy potatoes like russets, peeled and cubed (4 cups)
2 carrots, peeled and cubed (1 ½ cups)
2 cups veggie broth, divided
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2/3 cup nooch
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon Braggs Aminos
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
1 ½ cups diced canned tomatoes (think Rotel)
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
In a clean skillet warm the tablespoon of the oil over a medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté until it looks kinda golden, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic, potatoes, carrots, and first cup of broth to the pan, stir, then cover. Let that bitch braise until the potatoes and carrots are soft, about 15 minutes. When the veggies are soft, let that cool for a sec while you toss the rest of the veggie broth, milk, nooch, oil, lime juice, Braggs, salt, and spices into a blender. Add the softened veggies and all the liquids in the pan to the blender and run that shit until the sauce is all creamy, about 30 seconds. Taste and add more spices or lime juice if you think that shit is necessary. Stir in the tomatoes and jalapeno, DO.NOT.BLEND. Taste and serve right away as a dip or go ahead and make some damn nachos.
To make the nachos, warm your oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with tortilla chips. Now, you might be inclined to build a pyramid of chips which is absolute rookie shit because it ruins the topping-to-chip ratio. We’re doing this on a baking sheet and spread evenly. Got that? Good. Drizzle the chips with at least ½ cup of the queso. Add another layer of chips, queso, and whatever other fixings you’re into and then stick that shit in the oven ’til the chips are all warmed up, about 10 minutes. Layer on the salsa, cilantro, onions, jalapenos, guacamole, and more queso and quinoa taco mix. You know how the fuck to make nachos, just no chipyramids okay? Serve right away and brace yourself for some next level nacho-ness.
Every now and then we’ve ended up with extra queso wondering wtf to do with it. Eating any more chips was out the fucking question so we dreamed up our absolute favorite way to eat this : Queso Mac.
Make the queso as instructed above, then cook one box of your favorite pasta shape like shells or cavatappi. Dump 2-3 cups of queso in and stir. Serve topped with chopped red onions, jalapenos, and fresh cilantro. We cannot stress how shockingly incredible this is. It’s great reheated and makes a lunch a helluva lot better than whatever sad as shit you were gonna eat instead.
We can’t wait to see all your pics of your queso mac so don’t forget to tag us in that shit so we can show y’all some love. Speaking of cooking, in the recipe club newsletter going out tomorrow we’re in week 2 of our new Salsa Lessons series and this week is all about mangos. Don’t miss out.
Thanks again for all your support. Chat next week, k?
Michelle and Matt
This was AMAZING!! Thank you!!
Thanks for this! Do you foresee any issue subbing unsweetened soy milk for the almond?