Beef Nachos

contributed by Dent

(I'm a big fan of making stuff from scratch. I don't usually use packets of seasoning or pre-packaged sauces.)

The Recipe

Metric US

Topping

250 g 1/2 lb minced/ground beef 1 medium onion 2-3 cloves of garlic
450 g 1 lb red kidney beans (I use canned)
450 g 1 lb pureed tomato (I use canned)
1 tbs tomato paste
1/2 tesp tumeric
to-taste pepper
2-3 tesp cumin
2-3 tbs oregano
to taste chilli flakes or fresh chilli
3-4 tesp paprika
1 tesp ground corriander

Salsa

4 tomatoes
2 cup spring/green onions
1 cup fresh corriander/cilantro
1 cup pickled/bottled jalapeños

Guacamole

2 large avocado
2 small clove garlic
2 tbs sour cream
2 tesp tomato paste
1 tesp lemon juice

Base

400 g plain corn chips
2-3 cups grated tasty/cheddar cheese

Method

Start in a large frypan on high, heat a small amount of oil, chop onion and crush/chop garlic. Add onion to pan, fry until soft, add meat and some of the garlic fry until meat is almost cooked (I often add some of some of the spices during this process). Put meat aside on a plate or something. In some more oil fry the rest of the garlic and add beans, fry, crushing with a wooden spoon until about 2/3 of the beans are in paste form and the rest are still basically whole (but soft), (you may need to add a little water or some of the pureed tomato if the bean mix gets too dry). Sprinkle in the herbs and spices, remember beans adsorb a lot of flavours, so you'll probably need a little more than you expect (especially with things like chilli pepper). Fry this for a minute or two, then add the tomato and tomato paste, simmer for 10 minutes or so. When almost done, add beef back into this mix stir and continue simmering until beef mix is properly hot again.

The guacamole I make by mashing together all ingredients to form a smooth paste.

The salsa I make fresh, by dicing the tomato and jalapenos and cutting the spring onion and corriander fine and mixing gently.

When the topping has almost finished cooking, heat the oven to about 200C (325F) and place an oven tray covered with corn chips topped with cheese into the hot oven until cheese is melted and just starting to go golden.

Assemble by placing baked chip/cheese mix on a plate followed by topping, salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

Serves about 4 (as a meal, many more as a snack).

Variations: This is good if you're cooking for a mix of vege's and non-veges since you can leave the beef separate until you're actually doing the serving.

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