Oaxaca cheese recipe

Santiago Lastra demonstrates how easy it is to prepare his version of Oaxaca cheese (a semi-soft, stringy Mexican cheese originating from the southern region of Oaxaca) using mozzarella balls. The mozzarella is heated in a pan to extract and discard the whey, then cooked again with olive oil, before being stretched into a long ribbon and braided to form a ball.

Try melting the cheese in Santiago's choriqueso (a cheese and chorizo ​​dip), as well as in quesadillas and tacos costra. Prepare 3 large bowls: one with ice water and the other two empty.

Place a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the mozzarella to the dry saucepan and cook, stirring with a spatula, for about 5 minutes. The cheese will begin to release its whey.

Sprinkle your work surface with salt and place the strip of cheese on it. Begin rolling it into a ball: start by folding one end diagonally over itself, then repeat the movement in the opposite direction (if you've ever folded samosa dough, it's the same technique).