An easy to prepare taco filling made with chunks of asadero cheese softened in a spicy roasted green tomato salsa served on warm corn tortillas. Garlic, cumin, and epazote add a deep herbal flavor to the salsa.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time25 minutesmins
Course: Tacos
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Cheese Tacos Recipe, How to Make Cheese Tacos, salsa verde
Servings: 12tacos
Calories: 752kcal
Author: Andrés Carnalla
Ingredients
1 ¼lb.asaderoOaxaca, or panela cheese
1lb.green tomatoesabout 8 medium size
4serrano chiles
¼medium white onionabout 2 ounces
1clovegarlic
¼teaspoonwhole cumin
3fresh epazote leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
6sprigs fresh cilantromakes about 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
2tablespoonscooking oil
½cupwater
1teaspoonsalt
12corn tortillas
Instructions
Making the Salsa Verde
In a dry medium-hot pan blacken the green tomatoes, onion, serrano chiles, and garlic. Leave the skin on the garlic. You will remove it after charring.
Cook until the vegetables have blackened.
Let the garlic cool to the touch and then remove the papery skin. Chop the garlic very finely.
Cut the tops off of the chiles. If you prefer a milder salsa, you can also remove the seeds and stems.
Put the charred vegetables in your blender with ½ cup water. Blend for 1 minute.
Preheat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over high heat. Pour the blended salsa into the hot oil.
In the same pan you used to blacken the green tomatoes, preheat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over high heat then pour the blended salsa into the hot oil.
After cooking for ten minutes, add the finely chopped garlic, whole cumin seeds, and salt.
Stir and then add the epazote leaves.
Serving the Tacos
Chop the cheese into bite-sized chunks. Pour the hot salsa into a serving bowl and then add the cheese.
Stir to cover the cheese with salsa and sprinkle with the chopped cilantro. Let rest for 10 minutes to soften the cheese.
While the cheese and salsa are resting, heat the corn tortillas 30 seconds per side on your comal or griddle.
For each taco, spoon 2 or 3 chunks of cheese and salsa on each tortilla. Serve immediately.
Notes
Adjusting the Heat
A word of warning. This salsa is very spicy. If you prefer a milder salsa, you can reduce the number of chiles from 4 to 2. To reduce the heat even more but still retain flavor, remove the seeds and veins from the chiles.
Substitutions
You can use jalapeño peppers instead of the serrano pepper for a milder salsa. The flavor won’t be as bright but it will still be delicious.
You can substitute flour tortillas for the corn tortillas.
Any of the following cheeses will give you good results: queso asadero, queso Chihuahua, queso Oaxaca, or queso panela. In a pinch, you can even substitute mozzarella or provolone.
Serving Tips
These tacos are served warm not piping hot.
Storage
This dish keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To serve, reheat in the microwave until the salsa is hot and the cheese has softened. (About 1 to 2 minutes depending on your microwave.) Don’t allow the cheese to melt.