CROWD-PLEASERS
Load up the nachos, and you’re all set for watching football
Request a recipe for nachos and youmight get an eye roll.
After all, there is nothing to it. Piling things on chips andwarming them in amicrowave or oven is as complicated as boilingwater.
But it requires a little more effort as the ingredient list becomes longer or when each step involves a different technique. Then there’s the question of which toppings can handle a high temperature and which can’t.
Sometimes, all youwant are bar-style nachos that are crispy yet gooey and creamy yet spicy. Andwhodoesn’t love nachos loaded with enough meats, beans, vegetables and guacamole to make a meal in itself?
They all start off with tortilla chips sturdy enough to hold up toppings effortlessly. The chips then are covered with a generous sprinkling of shredded cheese or doused with a velvety cheese sauce and heated.
Finally, top those chips with whatever your heart desires and diet dictates.
One of the appetizer’s unsung heroes is cilantro, which adds a flavor and aromalike no other herb. There is no such thing as toomuchcilantro; it can be added to the pico and guac and sprinkled on top.
Nachos can be multilayered with smashed black beans scented with cumin, luxe queso with bits of pickled jalapenos, shredded or pulled pork or chicken, crumbled tofu, fresh and bright pico de gallo and finished with a squiggle of sour cream.
Or keep them simple, just to one layer.
That’s hownachoswere first made in theMexican townof PiedrasNegras in the early 1940s. The story goes that four American tourists stopped byModerno Restaurant andwanted fried tortillas. But therewas nobody in the kitchen.
So awaiter named Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya “sliced a tortilla in four pieces, put some cheese and slices of jalapeno on top and stuck it in the oven for a few minutes,” according to the San Antonio Express-News. Whenthe diners wanted to knowwhat theywere called, he responded, “Nacho’s Especial.” The namewas eventually shortened to nachos, and it became the most popular appetizer at the restaurant.
Thewaiter’s nickname, by the way, had nothing to do with his creation. Itwas acommonnickname for anyone named Ignacio inMexico, writesRobbWalsh in “TheTex-MexCookbook.”
Nor did the nickname win him any fortune when he opened Nacho’sRestaurant across the border inTexas.
Whentheword spread about the cheesy and spicy appetizer, variations started popping up. While tortilla chips and gooey melting cheese are a mainstay, recipes for vegan versions call for pulled jackfruit smothered in barbecue sauce, and there are keto ones built on pork rinds or cheese crisps.
No matter what kind of nachos you like, there are some commonsense tips for doing it right:
Bring refrigerated toppings to roomtemperature before piling them onto thewarmchips.
To prevent the chips from getting soggy, sprinkle grated or crumbled cheese on top and bake them in the oven for a few minutes. When melted, the cheesewill act as a buffer between the chips and toppings.
The chips should to be heated evenly and the cheesewell melted. It is not about browning or charring them, so use the oven and not the broiler to do the job.
While nachos are a free-form snack, don’t go nutty. Banana is forbidden.
So load up the nachos tomake the appetizer a meal, and youwill be all set forweekend football.