Great to serve at barbecues or when you are sipping tequilas, this warm dip is based on a runny cheese and cream sauce that gets its chunky texture from tasty pieces of onion, tomato and jalapeno pepper.
ingredients
serves: 4
1 large onion
2 teaspoons olive oil
5 medium tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers or 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno peppers in brine
8 ounce Red Leicester cheese
7 tablespoons heavy cream
Salt and black pepper
Tabasco sauce
To garnish:
2 sprigs of cilantro
To serve
corn chips, soft tortillas or pitta breads
method
1. Preheat the oven to moderate. Put a kettle of water on to boil.
2. Peel and chop the onion and fry it in the oil in a small saucepan over a low heat for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
3. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into quarters. Remove and discard the seeds, slice the flesh finely and set aside.
4. Rinse, dry, halve, deseed and finely chop the jalapeno peppers, if necessary, and set aside. Grate the cheese and set it aside.
5. Put the corn chips, tortillas or pitta breads into the oven to heat.
6. Add the cream to the softened onions in the pan and raise the heat. Just before the cream reaches simmering point, add the cheese and stir until it melts.
7. Add the tomatoes and Jalapenos to the pan and stir gently. Season carefully to taste with salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce.
8. Rinse, dry and strip the cilantro leaves from the stems. Pour the dip into a warm serving bowl, garnish with the cilantro and serve with corn chips or with fingers of soft tortilla or pitta bread.
