TORCHUS RECIPES

Steps:

• To roast the veggies:

• 1. Turn your broiler on (if it asks, set it to 550*) and put the rack on the third-highest rung in the oven. This allows the veggies to get cooked through without the skin getting black too quickly.
  2. On a sheet pan, lay out the cloves of garlic (still in their skins), roma tomatoes, Anaheim peppers, tomatillos (out of their lanterns), serrano pepper, and 1/4 onion (still in a wedge).
  3. Set the tray in the oven for 5-7 minutes, until the tomatoes have peeling skin and the peppers are charred.
  4. Pull out the tray and flip all the veggies over before putting it back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes.
  5. Once everything looks nice and roasted, take them out of the oven and set aside to cool.
  6. When the veggies are cool enough to handle, you're going to prep them for the rest of the recipe. Take the garlic out of the skins and then mince two cloves, leaving four whole. Deseed and scrape the skin off the Anaheim peppers (this is sometimes easiest under cool, running water), chopping them afterwards to quarter-to-half-inch pieces. Remove the skin from the tomatoes and dice to approximately the same size pieces as the Anaheim peppers. Cut the stem off the serrano.

• Prep the other ingredients:

• 1. For the salsa verde, place 4 cloves into a blender (I like to use this individual Ninja blender), along with the tomatillos, serrano (after the stem is cut off), 1/8 onion, and a good pinch of salt. Blend it up until it's smooth!
  2. Make the Torchy's guacamole which I posted over here.

• For the queso:

• 1. Put the butter in the bottom of a 3.5 quart pot with one clove of minced roasted garlic. Allow the butter to melt and cook the garlic for 30 seconds.
  2. Add the roasted, chopped Anaheim peppers and roma tomatoes with a pinch of salt.
  3. Pour in the half and half and then add the slices of American cheese one at a time. There's no need to wait for them to melt before you add the next one, but I've found that separating them helps them to melt more evenly and gives you a smoother queso.
  4. Sprinkle in the 1/2 c of shredded cheddar, stirring well.
  5. Once the cheddar has melted in, pour in the salsa verde you blended up earlier.
  6. Stir until it looks like the dreamiest queso you've ever seen. Then, add in the lemon juice and another pinch of salt.
  7. Now, you're going to be tempted to eat it right away. I understand! If you can hold off a couple of hours (or better yet, 4 to 12), it's going to get a thousand times better, I promise! The cheese will start soaking up all that flavor from the roasted peppers and make it the most flavorful queso you've ever had.

• To serve:

• I prefer mine with just a scoop of Torchy's guac and some queso, BUT to make it authentically Torchy's queso recipe, take a scoop of Torchy's guac and put it in the bottom of your bowl. Spoon the queso into the bowl, top with a sprinkle of cotija cheese and chopped cilantro, a drizzle of Valentina's, and go to town!

Steps:

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and jalapenos. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute more and remove from heat.
• Transfer jalapeno mixture to a blender. Add water, diced tomatoes, hot green chiles, mild green chiles, and cilantro. Cover and blend on high until mostly smooth.
• Pour blended mixture into a large pot over medium heat. Add processed cheese, chicken soup, cream cheese, hot sauce, cumin, and chili powder. Cook and stir until completely melted, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in lime juice; reduce heat to low.