I mentioned these in a previous post (Avocado Mint Salsa Verde), but I thought they were worthy of their own page. After all, I have referred to them on Instagram as “last meal good.
Let me be clear that this is not so much a recipe as it is assembly instructions. It was a harebrained scheme that came out of wanting to 1) use up the two separate half-eaten bags of tortilla chips in the pantry (who is doing the grocery shopping here???), and 2) try out the Private Selection Poblano Cheese Sauce I got on sale the week before (again, who is doing the grocery shopping?).
The turf part is Austin's Stovetop Carnitas. I also had mahi mahi in the fridge, but I think any white fish or shellfish would work here. I (read: Austin) blackened the mahi in chili powder, garlic, and salt on high heat in a nonstick pan. I suspect the nachos still would have been delicious even if we'd used cut-up cocktail shrimp. I leave this up to your discretion. I also can't make a meal without adding a little veggie mass, so I grated a zucchini, sautéed it with olive oil/salt/garlic powder, and added it in. Why not?
The Recipe
~6 oz tortilla chips
6 oz blackened mahi mahi, flaked
1 cup Stovetop Carnitas, shredded
1/2 cup Avocado Mint Salsa Verde
1/2 cup Private Selection Poblano Cheese Sauce or your queso of choice
1/4 cup smoked cheddar, shredded
Optional: 1 large zucchini, grated and sautéed
To top:
1 Roma tomato, diced
1/4 to 1/2 cup green cabbage, shredded
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
Lay down a first, single layer of chips in a circle roughly the size of your serving plate. Try not to leave any large gaps; if you do this right, you should be to slide the whole concoction onto a serving plate in tact.
If you're using it, distribute half the sautéed zucchini across the layer of chips. It tends to stick together, so you're going to get little dots of it and that's totally fine.
Distribute half the carnitas on one side of the chips and half of the fish on the other side. Or be a rebel and mix them together. I am not the boss of you.
Drizzle half the queso over all the chips. Then drizzle half the salsa verde over all the chips.
Lay a second layer of chips over the first. Again, try for a single layer with few gaps.
Repeat veggie/meat/fish/queso/salsa distribution. It's like nacho lasagna.
Top with the shredded cheddar.
Broil the nachos on low for 4 minutes, or until exposed chips around the edges start to darken.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 1 minute. Using a spatula and gravity, carefully slide your nachos onto your serving plate.
Top with diced tomato and shredded cabbage.
Notes and substitutions:
Smoked cheddar was on sale at the deli. I thought it was delicious here, but most cheese is delicious. Use your favorite.
Your favorite queso is fine, but because there's fish, I'd go with a white cheese sauce rather than an orange one.
Any mild seafood will probably work well here, but I'd avoid salmon or mackerel. Too oily.
To make this pescatarian, sub the carnitas for more grated zucchini and sauté with chili powder and a little soy sauce for a meaty taste. I bet soyrizo would also work, but I've never actually eaten any.
I was skeptical, but the avocado salsa totally held up to the broil.
We made up a lot of stuff as we went along here, and it worked out really well. Like, it was rich and creamy from the cheese sauce, spicy and hearty from the meat, and herbal and bright from the salsa verde. And don't skip the fresh tomato and cabbage on top! When I was chopping it, I thought I was doing it for presentation. But when I was eating it, I was hoping for the bites with the crunchy cool salad on top.
Happy nacho-ing!
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