My sister and I have a tradition every month or so. Whenever we both are working late on a Friday night, we'll try to meet up for what we call, "a late night vent session" over not so good for you food.
One of those foods we always try to order are cheesy, some sort of meat involved nachos.
When she told me that she wanted to come over my place, I immediately thought of this chorizo nacho recipe that's been bookmarked for some time now. The only qualm I had with this recipe was that it include beans and this girl is not a fan of any sort of beans. To this day, she's the type of sister that will pick out the beans in her meal and move them over to my plate. How...cute.
But I still went ahead and made these nachos HA. If only you could see the face she made at me when I told her these nachos included beans...
So these might be the best nachos I ever made. That's a pretty bold statement right? But it's true. I don't know if it's a mixture from the smokiness of the chorizo with the habanero cheddar in combination with the bechamel sauce but these nachos are damn good. So good in fact, that my sister didn't pick out the beans! She actually devoured the beans. That speaks volume, no?
Coincidentally, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and I can't think of a more fitting dish to help celebrate the holiday by eating these nachos. Oh and let's not forget margaritas;)
Have a great weekend.
Ingredients (Adapted from www.yumsugar.com)
For chorizo and pinto bean topping
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
2/3 pound ground Mexican-style chorizo
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
For habanero queso sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups habanero cheddar cheese (If you can't
find Cabot's habanero cheddar, use a good pepper Jack instead), grated
For serving
1 bag of salted tortilla chips
3 green onions, dark greens removed, minced
Salsa, optional for serving
Sour cream, optional for serving
Guacamole, optional for serving
Procedure
1. Make the topping: In a large skillet or soup pot, heat the
olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño.
Sauté until the vegetables are soft and fragrant, but not browned, about
7 minutes.
2. Add the chorizo, chili powder, cumin, and break up into small
crumbles with a wooden spoon. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Sauté until the chorizo is browned and almost cooked through, about 8
minutes.
3. Add the beans and stir to combine. Continue cooking to blend the
flavors, 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce: melt the butter in a large
saucepan over medium heat. Once it starts to foam and is completely
melted, whisk in the flour, whisking for 1 minute
5. Slowly whisk in the milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking
occasionally. Once it starts to boil, immediately remove from the heat
and whisk in the shredded cheese by the handful. Keep warm
6. To assemble the nachos: spread the tortilla chips in an even
layer on a large serving platter or across four plates. Generously pour
the cheese sauce over the chips taking care to cover as many chips as
possible.
7. Top with the meat and bean mixture, once again covering all the
chips. Drizzle with the remaining cheese sauce and sprinkle with green
onions.
8. Drizzle with salsa and dollop with sour cream and guacamole, if
using. Enjoy immediately.
