Instead of asking, “Why nachos?”, I urge you to ponder this question: Do you ever not want nachos? How can you resist the salty, creamy, spicy, tangy, crunchy, layered goodness? You cannot. Give in.
Why? Because nachos can be made in under ten minutes (if the beans and salsa are pre-made). And because you get to shove a bunch of melted, gooey cheese into your mouth. Because nachos are messy. I’m not gonna try to make this pretty for you. Get into it.
I started making salsa one summer when I was house-sitting for my dad at my childhood home on Maui. I was besieged by fresh roma tomatoes from the garden and papayas and mangos literally falling off their trees. It was rough. Needless to say, I could do nothing but make salsa, and eat it with these cumin black beans.
Also: I have a nacho secret. Two layers of cheese. One under and one on top of the black beans. Shhh don’t tell. Just let your friends gorge themselves on nacho bliss. The avocado cilantro creme cools while the homemade hot sauce brings on serious heat. Mmmm. You want it right now, don’t you?
What’re you waiting for?
Note that you’ll need to soak the beans at least 8 hours before beginning this recipe. Also, if you don’t want to make your own salsa, beans, and hot sauce, you can just freaking crack open a can of beans and a jar of the red stuff and call it a night. I’ve done exactly that on many occasions. Choose your battles, I say.
Ingredients
nacho foundations
- 4 cups of your favorite corn chips
- ¼ cup grated cheddar jack, or pepper jack cheese
- ½ cup mango salsa below
- 2 cups cumin black beans below
- avocado cilantro crema below
- C K& hot sauce to taste (below)
cumin black beans
- 1 cup dry black beans soaked at least 8 hours in filtered water
- 4 cups water
- 1 3- inch strips kombu seaweed
- 2 Tbsp . olive oil
- 2 tsp . powdered cumin
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ large onion chopped
- ½ tsp . salt or more to taste
- juice of ¼ lime
- 1 Tbsp . chopped cilantro
mango salsa
- 8 small tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 mangos diced
- 2- inch cut jalapeño minced
- ¼ cup onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tsp . salt
- 2 tsp . cumin
- 1 tsp . olive oil
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tsp . agave syrup
avocado cilantro crema
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ½ small avocado thoroughly mashed
- 1/8 tsp . sea salt
- 1/8 tsp . minced garlic about ½ small clove
- juice of ¼ lime
- ½ tsp chopped cilantro leaves
K&C fire-roasted hot sauce
- 7 Fresno chili peppers
- 1/2 small habañero pepper
- 1/4 medium onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup + 1 tsp. white vinegar
- 1 1/4 tsp. granulatated sugar
- 3/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. olive oil for coating the peppers, onions and garlic
Instructions
nacho assembly
- (I’m starting with the last step first for ease of reading, so scroll below for individual ingredient directions!)
- Preheat oven (or toaster oveto 425º. Pre-heat beans if they’re not already hot. Spread out chips on a cookie sheet or toaster oven baking dish. Sprinkle with half the grated cheese. Slather on the (pre-heatebeans. Top with the rest of the cheese (and add more, if you wanna get crazy). Once the oven is preheated, pop ‘em in for about 5 minutes. You can leave them in as long as you like if you want ‘em really bubbly and browning, but keep your eyes on the oven because they’ll burn quickly.
- Remove and serve immediately, topped with avocado cilantro crema, mango salsa, hot sauce, and some extra fresh cilantro leaves on top.
cumin black beans
- Place soaked beans in a large pot with the water and the kombu strips (helps break down enzymes and improve bean digestion! woohoo!). Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Add 1 tbsp. of olive oil, cumin powder, onion, and garlic. Cook at least an hour, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed to keep the liquid level with beans.
- When beans are completely tender and beginning to fall apart (this will vary in time, and could be up to two hours), remove the lid and let some of the water cook off until you can mash the beans. At this point you can either remove the kombu or just let it be part of the bean situation (it won’t add any flavor). Stir in the cilantro, remaining olive oil, and salt, and cook for another 30-40 minutes, until most of the liquid is gone. Keep stirring and mashing to get the consistency you prefer.
mango salsa
- Sauté onion in olive oil with cumin until translucent. Mix all other ingredients—except salt—in a large bowl. Add the cumin-y onions and gently stir. Add salt last, adjusting to taste.
avocado cilantro crema
- Mix sour cream and mashed avocado thoroughly, mashing further with a fork if it’s lumpy. Add in remaining ingredients, mix thoroughly, and taste test for flavor adjustments.
K&C fire-roasted hot sauce (optional)
- Preheat oven to 425º.
- Leave the skins on the garlic cloves, but crack them slightly so they won’t pop while roasting. Slice the quarter onion into large chunks and separate the pieces. Place garlic cloves, whole peppers, and onions on a baking sheet and lightly coat with olive oil. Roast for 15-20 minutes, checking every 10 minutes, until pepper skins are blistering and browning in spots. Remove from oven.
- Remove stems from peppers and garlic skins from garlic, and place the peppers, garlic, and onions in a non-reactive sauce pan with the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5-8 minutes.
- Empty all ingredients into a high-powered blender or food processor and blend until ingredients are fully incorporated. Transfer to a glass jar and let cool before sealing. Keep in air-tight container in fridge.
- (Now scroll up for nacho assembly.)
- Enjoy, friends! Hasta los nachos!
