What We Ate Wednesday--Jalapeño Nachos

Hello lovelies! Sometimes you are just craving “dirty” food—like spicy nachos with a gooey cheesy sauce that you eat with your fingers and get really messy which feels like you are twelve again and splitting and order of loaded nachos with your bestie at the roller rink. Just me, then?

Jalapeño peppers always remind me of dear old dad. He always had a jar of pickled jalapeños in the fridge.

This recipe comes together in a snap if you have lentils already cooked. Lentils are my go-to substitute for ground meat. They are hearty and wholesome and a whole food. They freeze well too so I cook up 2 cups of brown lentils at a time in a strong broth make with 5 cups vegetable stock, a glug of tamari, a teaspoon of yeast extract, 6 cloves of garlic and a teaspoon mixed herbs. Boil then simmer until the lentils are tender (about 20 minutes) and most of the liquid is absorbed. If you plan to freeze then cook them slightly al dente. If you get distracted and they overcook they just lose their shape a bit and melt down a bit softer. They still taste good, so don’t worry. Make sure you use green lentils, brown lentils or black Puy lentils for this—not red or you will be left with mush. 2 cups dried lentils makes 4 portions of 1.25 cups each of meaty goodness. I divide mine into click lock sandwich boxes that stack well in my small freezer. Just defrost overnight in the fridge.  

This also uses my go-to cheese sauce mix—it is a dry powder mix that takes 5 minutes to make. You just add 1/3 cup dry mix to 1 cup plant based milk and whisk. You can make macaroni cheese or cheese sauces like this one. It is so easy. Find the recipe HERE.

Jalapeño Nachos for Two

200g bag of tortilla chips (100g for each person)

1 onion, diced

Garlic (we used 4 cloves) 

3 tsp Mexican spice mix—like taco seasoning

1.25 cups cooked lentils (or a tin of black beans or kidney beans, drained and rinsed)

Jar of salsa

Squeeze of lime juice—bottled is fine

For the cheese sauce:

1/3 cup dry powder—find the recipe HERE

1 cup unsweetened plant based milk—I used soya milk

1/3 cup chopped pickled jalapeños

Optional:

If you have some vegan sour cream or plain natural yogurt with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice that works too if you want a cooling topping. We have eaten it both ways-- with and without sour cream-- and it is all good.

1. Divide the tortilla chips between two plates or large bowls.

2. Cook the onion and garlic in a splash of water or oil until softened. Add the Mexican spice mix, lentils and salsa and put the lid on to heat it up.

3. While the meaty sauce bubbles away start heating the cheese. In another smaller pot add the powder, the milk and the jalapeño peppers and turn up the heat to medium high, whisking constantly until it bubbles and thickens. This sauce gets lovely and gooey.

4. Add the meaty mixture to your tortilla chips and then top with cheesy jalapeño sauce and the optional sour cream.

5. Eat with your fingers and make a huge mess while laughing about your misspent youth wanting to be a roller disco queen despite the fact that you cannot skate. Just me, again?