Beef Nachos
Time 45 mins
Difficulty Medium
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
500 gm beef mince
2 tbs mexican seasoning (see below for ingredients)
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
400 g (14 oz) tin black beans, drained and rinsed
400 g (14 oz) tomato puree
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 cob of corn, kernels cut off.
170 g corn chips
big dollop of sour cream
Cheese Sauce:
50 g butter
2 tbs flour
1 bay leaf
1 ts flake salt
400 ml milk
2 c grated cheddar cheese
Guacamole:
1 avocados, peeled and seed removed
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 chopped spring onion (scallion), all
1 tablespoon roughly chopped coriander (cilantro)
1 tablespoon chopped pickled jalapeno, or, as I didn’t have any, use a whole fresh jalapeno and some green chilli sauce
Tomato Salsa:
1 punnet baby roma tomatoes
½ red onion or 1 golden shallot, peeld chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tbs coriander stalks
Mexican seasoning:
2 tbs oregano
2 tbs smoked paprika
2 ts chilli flakes
1 ½ tbs ground cumin
1 tbs ground coriander seeds
½ ts ground cinnamon
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs onion powder
Combine and store in an airtight container for 3 weeks.
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the beef mince and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking up any large lumps.
Stir in the mexican seasoning, chopped onion and crushed garlic. Cook for another 5 minutes until the onion has softened.
Add the tomato paste, black beans, and tomato puree to the pan. Half-fill the tomato jar/tin with water (150ml-ish), swish it around, and then add it to the pan. Season with sea salt.
Stire well, cover with a lid and place in the oven to cook for 15-20mins.
Meanwhile, prepare the cheese sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat, add the flour and stir till smooth over medium heat. Continue to cook until it begins to turn golden, then add the bay leaf and milk, 100ml at a time, stirring till smooth between each addition. Fold in the cheese until melted and combined.
Remove the mince from the oven and if it has cooked a bit too much, add 150ml of water to loosen.
Use a spoon to make little holes in the meat sauce and fill with dollops of cheese sauce.
Use up ¾ of the sauce. Scatter the corn kernels over the top the arrange the corn chips over the top, sticking up and out like shards.
Drizzle with remaining sauce and some olive oil
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until golden and bubbly.
While the nachos are baking, prepare the guacamole by combining all ingredients in a small food processor and blending till smooth.
For the tomato salsa, repeat the guac process, but just pulse till desired choppiness is achieved.
Once the nachos are ready, serve them with the guacamole, tomato salsa, and a dollop of sour cream.