This much healthier version of a traditional Mexican dish tastes really authentic. Make it for a light lunch or triple the recipe and serve it at a party. Homemade nachos are so quick and easy to make. They are accompanied by soy yogurt (soured with lemon juice), homemade guacamole dip, a mix of lentils and tomato beans sprinkled with grated fried tofu. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Homemade Nachos Crackers* (see recipe below)
1 cup cooked Puy/brown lentils
1 cup of cooked kidney beans
4 tomatoes, chopped
4 tablespoons of tomato paste diluted with 4 tablespoons of water
1 – 2 teaspoons minced fresh red chili (to taste)
2 teaspoons of peanut oil
¾ cup grated firm tofu
4 ml of turmeric
3 ml paprika
2 teaspoons fine salted yeast flakes
Avocado and guacamole dip (homemade)
½ cup soy yogurt/silken tofu mixed with 1 teaspoon lemon juice
method
- Place the lentils, beans, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste mixture, and chili in a saucepan and heat over low heat.
- Heat the peanut oil in a small skillet and fry the tofu over fairly high heat to remove most of the moisture.
- Add the turmeric, paprika and salty yeast to the tofu and stir for one minute. Get out of the fire.
- To assemble the nacho plate: Pour the lentil and tomato mixture into the center of a large serving platter. Push the crackers into the mixture from the sides. Spread fried tofu on top.
- Serve the avocado sauce (guacamole) and tart soy yogurt or silken tofu on the side so everyone can help each other.
For 4 people.
* nacho crackers
These cookies taste wonderfully authentic, but are baked in the oven instead of fried. You can add all sorts of interesting herbs to the batter if you like. Cooked couscous adds an interesting texture, though you can substitute cooked quinoa to make gluten-free crackers. Nut butters bind all the ingredients together effectively to make crispy black pepper nachos.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons dry couscous / quinoa for gluten free
1 cup of yellow cornmeal
½ teaspoon herb salt
2 tablespoons cashew butter/smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
½ cup brewed warm chamomile tea/warm water
2 teaspoons of salty baking powder
olive oil cooking spray
method
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F). Place a baking (pizza) stone or sturdy baking sheet in the oven to heat at the same time.
- Boil water over the couscous and leave for 5 minutes (or cook the quinoa). Drain and fluff with a fork. Make chamomile tea.
- Place the cornmeal and salt in a bowl and combine. Rub in the nut butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the black pepper and cooked couscous or quinoa to the flour mixture.
- Pour the tea (or water) over the flour mixture and stir until combined. Add the savory yeast and stir to mix.
- Dust a sheet of nonstick baking paper with cornmeal. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for half a minute. It will be a hard dough.
- Roll the dough into a thick tube, then transfer it to parchment. Stretch the dough with a rolling pin in a thin rectangular shape, flour the dough well so that it does not stick. Take a knife and deeply score the dough into squares, then into triangles. Drizzle them with olive oil.
- Working quickly, remove the baking stone or tray from the oven and slide the parchment onto it along with the slotted dough. Bake on the middle rack for 10 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 190°C (370°). Flip the cookies over and bake for an additional 3 minutes. Make sure the cookies are dry and crisp.
- Remove from oven, separate cookies from each other and cool well on wire racks. When the nachos are cool, store in an airtight container (up to a week).
Makes enough for 4 people.