Manjar Blanco ★ 4.4
Manjar Blanco on Mérida's Calle 47 corridor near Paseo de Montejo runs cochinita pibil and queso relleno (Netflix Taco Chronicles featured) lunch only.
Signature: Cochinita pibil tacos, Queso relleno negro, Pavo en escabeche
History
The dish is the Yucatán's tribute to Caribbean and Dutch trade routes that brought Edam (queso de bola) to the peninsula in the colonial era, married with Spanish-influenced picadillo. It became a celebration dish for Yucatecan weddings and Sunday lunches by the early 20th century. The technique is to hollow out a whole queso de bola, stuff it with a pork-and-raisin picadillo seasoned with capers, olives and chiles dulces, then bake until the cheese melts and forms a soft shell. The picadillo is sauced with kol blanco (béchamel-like) and chiltomate. La Tradición, La Chaya Maya and Restaurante Kinich in Izamal run reference versions.
Common allergens: Dairy, Pork
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1 whole Edam cheese (queso de bola), 1.5-2 kg
- 500g ground pork
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tomatoes, diced
- 100g raisins
- 50g capers
- 100g pimento-stuffed olives, chopped
- 1 tbsp oregano
- Salt and pepper
- For k'ool sauce: 500 ml chicken broth, 50g all-purpose flour, 2 eggs
Method
- Hollow out the Edam wheel with a melon baller, leaving a 1.5cm shell. Reserve the cheese trimmings for another use.
- Cook ground pork with onion, garlic and tomato until browned. Add raisins, capers, olives and oregano. Simmer 15 minutes.
- Stuff the hollow cheese with the picadillo, replacing the top.
- Wrap the entire cheese tightly in muslin or banana leaves. Steam over simmering water for 45-60 minutes until the cheese softens but holds shape.
- For k'ool: whisk flour into broth, simmer 10 minutes whisking constantly. Beat eggs and stream in. Cook 2 more minutes.
- Slice the queso relleno at table. Plate each slice with the picadillo, k'ool sauce poured over and a red tomato sauce on the side.
Tip from the editors. Wrap the cheese tightly; if it bursts during steaming, the picadillo escapes. Restaurants tie the muslin with twine.
Where to eat queso relleno
Queso relleno in Mérida
La Tradición ★ 4.3
La Tradición on Calle 60 in Mérida runs chef David Cetina's Yucatecan recados, poc chuc and queso relleno from a family kitchen of two decades.
Signature: Poc chuc, Queso relleno, Sopa de lima
Los Almendros ★ 4.0
Los Almendros on Parque de la Mejorada in Mérida runs the Yucatecan canon since 1972, claiming credit for putting poc chuc on the city's restaurant maps.
Signature: Poc chuc, Papadzules, Queso relleno, Sopa de lima
La Chaya Maya ★ 4.4
La Chaya Maya on Santa Lucía in Mérida pours tortillas on a clay comal in the dining room and runs sopa de lima, poc chuc and panuchos seven days a week.
Signature: Sopa de lima, Poc chuc, Papadzules, Cochinita pibil
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