The epitome of street food in Nicaragua is the addicting Nicaraguan Quesillo. A warm tortilla wrapped around creamy soft white cheese topped with crema, pickled onions and a sprinkle of salt. Quesillo is usually served in plastic baggies to limit the messy, while staying travel-friendly.
Ingredients
Nicaraguan Quesillo is delicious yet simple dish. All it needs is:
- Yellow corn tortillas
- Cuajada agridulce /quesillo
- Yellow onion
- Black vinegar
- Salt
Warm Corn Tortilla
To start, the key to a Nicaraguan Quesillo is a warm homemade corn tortilla. The flavor of a homemade tortilla in Nicaragua is incomparable, but it is not necessary for a great Quesillo. I adapted this recipe for ease and functionality, so you don’t need to make corn tortillas from scratch.
Instead, I recommend searching for a good corn tortilla brand that uses: unbleached yellow corn masa, hot water, and salt. Yes, that’s it. The more minimal the ingredients the better the tortilla.
- Here’s a tortilla brand I love for Quesillo: La Tortilla Factory – https://amzn.to/39eEyS5
What is Quesillo? (Soft White Cheese)
The cheese that gives Nicaraguan Quesillo it’s addicting quality is authentically the Cuajada Agridulce. It’s soft and creamy unlike it’s cousin the Cuajada Seca, which is dry and smoked. The use of the Cuajada Agridulce for Quesillo is extremely popular. So popular, that it earned the nickname – Quesillo .
If you aren’t able to locate an authentic Cuajada/Quesillo cheese, don’t worry. A good substitute is whole milk mozzarella in ball or cube form. Do not use shredded whole milk mozzarella.
Quesillo Toppings – Pickled Onions and Crema
The final components in Nicaraguan Quesillo are crema and pickled onions. These pickled onions are not your average, they are pickled in black vinegar instead of white vinegar.
Black vinegar is commonly used in lots of Asian dishes and features a malty, woody, smoky flavor. It’s easily compared to balsamic vinegar, based on the long fermenting process.
For Nicaraguan Quesillo, we use black vinegar to soak the yellow onions. It gives the onions a bit of sweetness and tartness.
Wondering how to make the pickled onions? Read below! It’s a SUPER simple process.
Prepare the pickled onions by roughly chopping yellow onions. Next, boil them in hot water until slightly soft. Just enough to cut the raw crunch texture. Remove them from the water. Soak the soft onions in the black vinegar. They should resemble a light to medium brown color. Store them for future use and that’s it!
Top your Quesillo with them. Add them in tacos. Have fun and incorporate them into recipes in unique ways.
Stay Connected
- For more Nicaraguan recipes videos, check out my YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvuAYXAxdSG6pMbjtmJc4FuqkLTJdgcyD
- Craving more street foods? Try my Tajadas con Queso recipe: https://www.nataknowsbest.com/tajadas-con-queso/
Nicaraguan Quesillo
Ingredients
- 8 -10 yellow corn tortillas (homemade is ideal but not mandatory)
- 8 ounces cuajada agridulce /quesillo (may substitute with soft white cheese or whole milk mozzarella)
- 1 small yellow onion roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup black vinegar to desired taste
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Prepare the Pickled Onions
- Begin by roughly chopping yellow onions and boiling them in hot water for roughly 3 minutes. Just until raw crunch texture is removed. Onions should be soft but not fully translucent.
- Remove onions from water and cool. Then add desired amount of black vinegar on top of the onions. Soak for 5 minutes or until desired color and taste is achieved. Onions should have a light to medium brown tint to them.
Prepare the Cheese
- Second work on the quesillo. If using cuajada agridulce cheese, add cuajada rounds into boiling water and soften the cheese until pliable or flexible. Remove from water and stretch cuajada until it resembles a long round cylinder or log.
- If using whole milk mozzarella, cut thick strips and stack them together for more height and body.
Making the Quesillo
- Start by warming the corn tortilla in a skillet or griddle on low heat for about 3 minutes.
- Then place the stretched cuajada or stacked strips of mozzarella on top of the warmed tortilla. Allow the residual heat from the skillet and tortilla to slightly melt the cheese.
- Top generously with the pickled onions and then add several dollops of crema. Roll the tortilla round the quesillo and enjoy!
