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Alyssa’s ‘Famous’ Nachos Supremo

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Category: Nutrition / Recipes

Published on Thursday, 22 September 2011 13:03

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One of the many things that I love about cooking versus baking is that cooking has the opportunity of letting you ‘play’ with your food, whilst baking, for the most part requires precision measurements to ensure that everything comes out the way it should.

Of course, that isn’t to say that with cooking you can throw anything into the pot and it will be marvellous! However, once you know what flavours, herbs and spices go well with each other, you have the option of mixing and matching. As well, in some cases, if you don’t have the exact measurement of one ingredient, it’s ok! Or you can add seasonings to build the flavours.

In saying this, my nacho ‘recipe’ is just that. It changes each and every time I make it, depending on what ingredients I have to hand – and how much work I am willing to put into making them. They may not be famous worldwide, but they sure are famous with my friends and family! (You know you are on to a good thing when your friends ask you to give them a shopping list of what you’ll need so they can swing by for a quick fix!)

So, there is the ‘easy’ version, and all the other ingredients listed are things that you can add to build the flavours, should you wish.

Most importantly, with nachos you need some great dips to have with it! So, make sure you have crème fraiche, guacamole, and salsa on hand. You can also increase or decrease the amount of cheese you use, depending on your tastes. You can use beef mince instead of Quorn, however, I personally like Quorn as it is low in fat and doesn’t need to be cooked fully.

Serves two hungry people and up to four as a nibble.

You will need:

1 large baking tray lined with baking parchment or aluminium foil

Frying pan

Cheese grater (if using a block versus already grated cheese)

Ingredients:

1 bag of tortilla chips (personally, Doritos Lightly Salted are far better than any others I have tried)

1 bag of frozen Quorn mince

1 packet of taco seasoning mix (such as Old El Paso or Discovery) found in the World Food aisle of the grocery store

2 tbsp (approximately) of vegetable oil

1 jar of salsa (plus another jar for dipping)

1 onion, chopped (optional)

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

1 tin baked beans (optional)

1 tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed (optional)

300 g of grated cheese (I use a bit of grated cheddar from the bags for ease, if I have it, and I also supplement it with the Mexican cheese you can buy in the shops that has chilli flakes in it – if you use this don’t try to grate it – it won’t grate! Just slice it on top where you want it)

3 spring onions, chopped (optional)

Jalapeno peppers (pickled in the jar) – use the desired amount you wish

Method:

To start, put your grill on to medium high, and get it hot while you are cooking the topping.

Topping:

1. Heat oil in frying pan and add onion (optional) and cook a few minutes until translucent on medium-low heat. Add Quorn mince and break this up with a fork or spoon. Add your jar of salsa and your garlic (optional). Stir in taco seasoning mix and cook for a minute or two.

2. While the Quorn mixture is cooking, line your baking tray with baking parchment or aluminium foil, then spread the bag of tortillas over the tray evenly. Top tortillas with the Quorn mixture, then sprinkle your grated cheese all over.

3. If you are using spring onions, place these on top of the cheese, and the same with the jalapeno peppers.

4. Place under grill for a few minutes in order to get the cheese melted and starting to go nice and brown. Make sure you are watching, as the tortillas can sometimes burn!

We eat our nachos right from the tray. Just place a clean bath towel or kitchen towel under the tray, then let everybody help themselves, together with their choice of dips!

Once you get the hang of the recipe, the nachos can literally be ready in under 10 minutes and are great to enjoy whilst watching a movie, or just having a casual bite with friends or family.

By Alyssa Savage