We got an idea about almost two years ago, wrote it down in the list of funky recipe ideas in our queue, and we finally made it happen all this time later. The original idea came to us in the Presidential Mountains of New Hampshire when we found a local dairy farm that sold a Welsh Style Cheddar. We used that cheese (along with Scotch instead of Kirsch) to make Welsh Fondue. That got us thinking, “What other cheese and liquor pairings could we make work?” One such pairing we were drawn to was Pepperjack cheese and Tequila. However, Tequila isn’t a thing we often have on hand…although when we do, we usually cook with it. So we waited, as we didn’t want to buy something we rarely use just for this meal. Then, as we were cleaning out our cabinets, we saw a small bottle in the back…it had gotten lost in our move…but sure enough we had just enough tequila to make this!
Taking it as a sign, we acquired some Pepperjack, and we got to work! The resulting Fondue was awesome! The cheese melted perfectly, coated our dipping ingredients as well as we had hoped, and had the exact flavour we were going for. This was definitely a fun way to make Swiss Mexican Fusion (which we enjoy doing…see Alpkäsedillas, Swiss Burritos, German Pork Tacos, and Taco Risotto). Typically, we fit Swiss Flavours into Mexican styles…but (like Taco Risotto), this time, we reversed our tendency and went the opposite direction!
The hardest part of this meal was deciding what to use as dipping ingredients! Tortilla chips stood out as a must, but we felt we needed more. My wife found some really funky grape tomatoes with thicker than normal skins at the grocery store, and they stood up well to the hot cheese (making them an excellent choice). Then, we decided to try making Chili Lime Mini Chicken Meatballs, as we thought the flavours and the texture would be perfect for dipping in our fondue. We highly suggest these three as your dipping ingredients…although, sliced bell peppers would probably work well too!
Time: 15 Minutes
Ingredients: (for 2 servings)
- 8 oz Shredded Pepperjack Cheese
- 1/4 Cup Dry White Wine
- 1 Clove of Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Corn Starch
- 2 Tbsp Tequila
- Dipping Ingredients. A few good options are:
- Tortilla Chips
- Thick Skinned Grape Tomatoes
- Chili Lime Chicken Meatballs
- Sliced Raw Red Peppers
Method:
- Shred your cheese with a box grater or the shredding plate of your food processor.
- Peel a garlic clove, and cut it in half. Rub the cut sides around your fondue pot.
- Turn your heat to low, and allow the caquelon to heat. Then, add in your wine, and bring to a low simmer.
- Scoop all of your cheese in, and whisk slowly as it melts.
- When all of your cheese has melted, combine your corn starch and tequila, and stir to fully dissolve the corn starch. Then, whisk as you pour it into your fondue to thicken.
- Plate, dip, devour, and enjoy!
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