The Ultimate Nachos
Nachos are great if you’re hosting a movie night, having friends over for the game, or if you just don’t want a lot of dishes and have finally decided to give up on keto. I love nachos that have several layers and where every chip has a good amount of toppings. I prefer to serve them on a large baking sheet, right out of the oven, with a pile of sour cream and guacamole in the middle for scooping.
This probably goes without saying, but I know everyone likes their nachos a little different. The proportions and ingredients in this recipe may be changed to suit your tastes, with little to no change to the cooking requirements.
Ultimate Nachos
Ingredients:
10-15 corn tortillas, cut into fourths
Canola oil for frying
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup taco seasoning (chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and onion powder)
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/2 pound Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1/2 pound cheddar cheese, shredded,
1 cup heavy cream
15 oz can refried beans
15 oz can black beans, drained
Chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup cotija cheese
1/4 cup Mexican creme
Guacamole for serving (mix avocado with lime, cotija cheese and a little chopped jalapeño)
Sour cream for serving
Directions:
To fry the chips, heat a few inches of canola oil in a medium dutch oven on medium heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees. Add the tortilla pieces a few at a time so that you don’t crowd the pot. Be careful not to add too many at once, or you’ll bring the oil temperature down and risk having a few chips stuck together. Cook each batch about a minute on one side, then flip and cook another minute. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon or spider and lay on paper towels to drain off the excess oil. Season with salt.
In a large sauce pan, add a tablespoon of canola oil and begin cooking the minced garlic and jalapeño. Add in the ground beef and cook until browned. Once browned, add in the tomato paste and seasoning. Cook for 2 minutes so that the spices begin to bloom and then add in the chicken broth. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Then set aside.
To create the queso, simmer one cup of heavy cream in a sauce pan. for about 15 minutes stirring constantly so that it doesn’t burn. Once that cream has really thickened, add in the shredded Monterrey jack and cheddar cheese. Stir to combine and then set aside.
Align the tortilla chips on a baking sheet in one uniform layer. Take a knife and carefully coat each chip with refried beans. Sprinkle on some beef, black beans, tomatoes and cotija cheese. Repeat all of these steps with another layer. At the very top, pour on the queso and top with more beans and cotija. Now bake in an oven on 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until everything is warm and the chips begin to crisp up.
Remove from oven and use a spoon to layer on some Mexican Crema. Serve with guacamole and sour cream.
