Vegetarian Nachos

Nachos is one of my favorite appetizer. But we have stopped ordering whenever we go to a restaurant because they overload with cheese. So I started making it at home so that I can control the amount of cheese going into it. This way I enjoy it better and they are much healthier too. I used to make Nachos with refried beans and cheese. Then top it off with tomatoes and Onions. Recently I came across Hilah's recipe where she took time to slather each chip with the refried beans. I really liked the idea. Its little time consuming but each chip will have refried beans. I omitted the meat from her recipe and made spicy black bean mixture. It turned out very good and we enjoyed it with Guacamole. Do try making this version for a get together or just to treat yourself. I hope it turns out well for you!

Ingredients:

• Corn Chips
• Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese - 3/4 cup
• Jalapeno, finely chopped - 1 tsp
• Refried Beans - 1/3 cup

For Spicy Black Beans:

• Cooked (or canned) Black beans - 1/2 cup
• Olive Oil - 1 tsp
• Onion, small sized - 1/2
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cayenne pepper powder - To taste
• Salt - To taste

For Garnish:

• Chopped Scallion (green onion)
• Chopped Tomato
• Chopped Cilantro
• Chopped Red Onion

Procedure:

For making black bean mixture:

Chop the onions and set it aside. Then heat oil in a pan. Once hot, add the chopped onion and fry it until it turns translucent.

Then add cumin powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix and continue frying the mixture for half a minute. 

Then add in the cooked black beans.

Mix and let it fry for a minute and then turn off the heat. Set it aside until required.

Now, preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

For Assembling:

For assembling the corn chips you can use any oven safe dish like a pie dish, baking sheet, cast iron pan or a plate. I used a cookie sheet.

Slather each corn chip with desired amount of refried beans and start arranging them in the oven safe dish. Place them as close as possible.

Then sprinkle the spicy black bean mixture followed by chopped jalapeño .

Then finally sprinkle grated cheese (At this point you can again repeat the layers if you want to serve a larger group. I just made for two of us).

Pop it in the oven for 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. 

Once the cheese melts, garnish it with chopped cilantro, scallions, tomato and red onions.

Vegetarian Nachos is ready!!

Serve it immediately along with Guacamole. Above measurement serves two.