El Minuto’s Cheese Crisps

Recipe from Linda Ronstadt and Lawrence Downes

Adapted by Kim Severson

Published Oct. 5, 2022

El Minuto’s Cheese Crisps
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(168)
Comments
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In Tucson, Ariz., a late night out is often punctuated by a stop at a local Mexican restaurant for cheese crisp. Linda Ronstadt grew up eating the version at El Minuto, which was across the street from the building where her brother worked as the chief of police. She included the recipe in her hybrid memoir-cookbook “Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands” (Heyday, 2022). The ingredients are ridiculously simple but it is essential to search out an approximation of the large, nearly translucent flour tortillas that are a mainstay of Sonoran cooking. The trick is to let the tortillas cool and harden before topping them with cheese and sending them under the broiler. Chopped green chiles are a nice way to add some character to the snack, but a good hot sauce will do. —Kim Severson

Featured in: For Her Swan Song, Linda Ronstadt Turns to Recipes

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Ingredients

Yield:1 cheese crisp
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1(10-to-12-inch) flour tortilla
  • ½cup grated cheese, ideally equal parts Cheddar and Monterey Jack
  • Canned or fresh roasted strips of green chiles (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

544 calories; 41 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 20 grams protein; 760 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat your broiler.

  2. Step 2

    Cover the bottom of a frying pan with about ½ inch of oil, just enough to completely cover the tortilla. Heat over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Slide the tortilla into the pan and fry it for about 30 seconds until lightly golden, pressing down with a spatula to keep it flat. Remove it to a plate lined with paper towels to drain and get crisp. (You can heat the tortillas on a dry griddle or frying pan, too, if you want to use less fat, but your cheese crisp won’t be as good as El Minuto’s.)

  3. Step 3

    Transfer the tortilla to a baking sheet, top with the grated cheese and broil it just until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the tortilla is golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove it from the oven and top with green chiles, if using. Serve immediately to someone you love, then make another one for yourself.

Ratings

4 out of 5
168 user ratings
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Comments

therese

If you want some of the crispness of frying the tortilla without all the fat of frying, brush the tortilla with butter before baking in the oven.

Randi

Cooks Illustrated recommends Old Elpaso Flour Tortillas

Carajo

I make cheese crisps quite often, but never knew there was an "official" name for them. This recipe is perfect. I sometimes use diced onion and green fresh green chiles-when the Hatch chiles hit the market late summer.

Morgen K.

I grew up around the corner from El Minuto on Simpson in Barrio Viejo and am blown AWAY that you have this recipe, much less even know of the restaurant. My mother and I would always start a meal with this, bathed to the point of decadence in their amazing salsa...It was so delicious, we'd gorge ourselves to such a glutinous point that by the time our bean and cheese (enchilada style - verrrry important) came to the table, we'd take two bites and have them box up the rest. Thx for the memory!

Christie Schwalbe

I grew up on cheese crisps in Tucson, and they are the most perfect and simple comfort food! A few thoughts on the recipe: 1. The translucent tortillas that you mention are key! It took me 21 years in Denver to find one, and they're brought in from Hermosillo in Sonora Mexico. The brand is La Norteñita and they are wonderful! 2. I've never fried mine. I like to crisp the tortilla in a dry frying pan, flip it, and then cover with cheese and strips of Anaheim chiles from Sonora. Such a treat!!

Morgen K.

One HUNDRED percent correct re: the tortillas. We used to get ours at La Suprema Tortilla factory on Simpson, right around the corner from El Minuto. Now, when I go back home to Tucson, i get mine at La Mesa tortillas on Alvernon or Barrio Anita Market.

Ross

This is such a tasty, fun and easy snack. Pretty much followed the instructions to a T (I cut up a fresh poblano into small pieces and put that on the tortillas and cheese before putting them into the broiler and think that made a difference. Any non-super spicy pepper, or onion slices or both would also probably be good). One way to avoid the cheese getting too browned is to rotate the baking tray after 60 seconds and do 60 more.

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Credits

Adapted from “Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands” by Linda Ronstadt and Lawrence Downes (Heyday, 2022)

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