Queso Dipping Sauce With Leftovers From Your Party Cheeseboard
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The New Year has just begun and the hangover from the festive season lingers lightly. Proof of debaucherously eating your way through innumerable calorie dense treats inhabit your fridge and shelves. Sound familiar? If you, for some reason, give into the guilt of storing leftovers from your elaborate grazing tables until it’s time for them to go to waste, stop yourself from feeling that way anymore. It’s one thing to do something on purpose but when you work hard to make sure your family and friends have the best experience eating at your parties and you go out of your way to pick the choicest of food, nothing hurts more when you have to give it up when it goes bad.

Of all the things that have bits and pieces left behind, interestingly enough, a cheeseboard always ends up with stuff that people have had enough of. Bits of brie and gruyere, a spoonful or two of herbed cheese balls or labneh, slices of cold cuts and crackers are usual suspects when it comes to leftovers. It is a known fact that cheese is expensive and there is prudence in giving it a second life, without being ashamed. A queso sauce, which has all the fun of nacho cheese and devoid of the purity of the fondue, can be a creative way to use up all you’ve got left, while also making something delicious at the same time. You could blanket a bed of nachos with it or eat it with toasted pita bread, chips, any crackers that remain, if you like.

Recipe:

Ingredients [in no specific measurements]:


  • Brie cheese
  • Gruyere cheese
  • Labneh
  • ¼ cup cheddar (extra)
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon paprika powder
  • ¼ cup white wine
  • ½ green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
  • 1 teaspoon taco seasoning (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method:

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  • Heat some oil in a pan and add the onions and peppers and sauté until they begin to soften a little bit. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes. Deglaze the pan with white wine, turn up the heat to allow the alcohol to evaporate before turning down the heat to a simmer.
  • Add all the cheeses along with the paprika powder, chilli flakes and taco seasoning and allow it to gradually melt together. The cheeses will absorb the flavours from the pan as they melt. Stir in intervals to check for any lumps stuck to the bottom of the pan. Season carefully with salt and cracked pepper as the cheeses are already salty. Pour into a bowl and serve warm with nacho chips or crunchy tortillas.