Vegetarian Nachos
Vegetarian nachos is a classic TV dinner. Corn chips, beans, melty cheese, sour cream, homemade guacamole & salsa are a match made in heaven.You'll need a big bunch of coriander; it's added to the salsa and guacamole, plus it's nice to use as a garnish.If you don’t have a mini food processor, you can make the salsa and guacamole by hand. The salsa and guacamole portions are too small for most standard-sized food processors to handle. Very finely chop the tomato and coriander leaves with a knife and smash the avocado with the back of a fork.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- 2x baking dishes, roughly 20 x30cm (or one very large one)
Ingredients
- 3 medium tomatoes
- coriander leaves
- lime juice 1-2 limes, depending on size
- 2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup
- ½ teaspoon Tabasco or to taste
- 1-2 avocados
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 435 g refried beans
- 350 g plain salted corn chips
- 400 g tasty cheddar
- 200 g sour cream
To Garnish
- roughly chopped coriander leaves
- Optional Tabasco sauce/ sliced pickled jalapenos
Instructions
- Preheat Oven – to 180°C
Make Salsa
- Peel Tomatoes – using a cook’s blowtorch or boiling water (note)3 medium tomatoes
- De-seed Tomatoes – cut the peeled tomatoes into quarters. Scoop out and discard the seeds and the watery insides.
- Blend – put the tomatoes in a food processor. Add a handful of coriander leaves, one tablespoon of lime juice, the tomato ketchup & Tabasco. Whizz up until your desired consistency. Tip into a small bowl to serve, leaving about a tablespoon of salsa in the food processor.coriander leaveslime juice2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup½ teaspoon Tabasco
- Make Guacamole - tip in roughly chopped avocado flesh, a handful of coriander leaves, two tablespoons of lime juice and the salt. Whizz up until your desired consistency and tip into a small bowl to serve.coriander leaveslime juice1-2 avocados¼ teaspoon salt
- Grate Cheese - coarsely grate the cheese400 g tasty cheddar
- Assembly - spread the refried beans over the base of your serving dishes. Arrange the corn chips – stand up parallel to each other. Sprinkle over the cheese.435 g refried beans350 g plain salted corn chips
- Bake - for 5- 8 minutes, until you can smell toasted corn chips, and the cheese is melted.
- Serve - dish up piled high on plates, ensuring you include the bean layer and dollops of salsa, guac and sour cream. Scatter over some coriander and Tabasco/jalapenos if you want extra heat.
Notes
If you happen to have a cook’s blowtorch (for making brulees) - this is handy for peeling tomatoes too. Put the tomatoes down on a non-flammable surface (don’t hold the tomato while you’re doing this!) and apply the flame all over. The skin will blacken and shrivel. It can then easily be removed with a butter knife under running water. Or you can cut a small ‘x’ in the base of each tomato, place in a bowl and pour over boiling water. Leave to sit for a few minutes before (carefully) taking out. The skins should peel off easily. If not; put them back in the hot water for a few minutes longer.
Make Ahead
The guacamole and salsa can be made up to a day in advance. The salsa will get a bit watery over time – you can drain off any excess water. The corn chips are best kept in the bags until ready to arrange and then baked soon after. Unfortunately, any leftover baked corn chips do not keep well at all; they’re surprising bad!