It is a gloomy, gloomy day. There has been a risk of 42-57% risk of thunderstorms all day. Yet, no rain has appeared. It has just gloomier and greyer throughout the day. There is currently a car parked outside, very optimistically with its sun roof open. But it does in fact look like the skies are not going to clear and it's absolutely going to dump rain at some point. It actually did around 3:45 am! With a massive crack of thunder that sent the cat racing through the house. Followed by me scooping her up and watching the storm finally roll in. Esmérelda then discovered that she can attempt to play with lightning through the window. Although this is besides the point. The very grey day has left me in a cooking mode. Which, 8 hours later, has left me with a hankering to toss everything together and make calabaza squash nachos.
I'm calling these calabaza squash nachos because they contain heaping amounts of freshly Roasted Calabaza Squash Purée. But these also contain Brown Rice w/ Ambercup Squash & Red Chilis, Avocado Dip w/ Japanese Eggplant & Tahini, and Enchilada Sauce w/ Thai Chilis & Cherry Tomatoes. Like I said, I have been cooking today! I also have black beans slow cooking, but they still have a few hours left in the crock pot and, despite only being about 4:30 in the afternoon, it is rapidly getting greyer. Pretty soon, there will not be enough natural sunlight coming in through my pitiful amount of windows to take photos of my food! And, despite cooking all day, I haven't eaten today. So, I am very, very excited about these rainy day nachos.
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Variations of Calabaza Squash Nachos
Calabaza squash is one of my favorite things to make. You can easily substitute butternut squash, pumpkin, or ambercup squash. All of these have a similar creamy consistency and rich flavor. They also all pair incredibly well with nachos! Nothing signals the end of summer and the beginning of the fall season quite like freshly roasted gourds. And nothing is quite as satisfying on a gloomy day as a heaping plate of nachos. They are the quintessential comfort food where the warmth of roasted squash is oh-so-fitting.
These calabaza squash nachos combine brown rice with ambercup squash and chilis, roasted calabaza squash, avocado dip with Japanese eggplant and tahini, and enchilada sauce with Thai chilis. I like to turn anything and everything I have leftover at the end of the week into something quick, easy, and a little bit fun. Nachos fit the bill perfectly. There are few things that aren't made better tossed on top of tortilla chips and drowned in cheese.
Cook Brown Rice w/ Ambercup Squash & Red Chilis. This takes about an hour and requires a rice cooker or stove. You can also easily create a different flavor profile or utilize the produce that you have on hand. I almost always keep a batch of rice or quinoa in the fridge for exactly this purpose.
I used Roasted Calabaza Squash in this recipe. This takes a couple of hours and requires a calabaza (or other squash or pumpkin of choice) as well as aluminum foil and a baking dish.
I topped this withAvocado Dip w/ Japanese Eggplant & Tahini. This is entirely optional. You can easily substitute sour cream, Greek yogurt, or omit entirely. Although this avocado dip is my new favorite thing and I highly recommend giving it a try. It's kind of a mix between hummus and guacamole. And is absolutely delicious!
For the hot sauce on this, I used Enchilada Sauce w/ Thai Chilis & Cherry Tomatoes. These recipes take less than an hour and require an air fryer and a large pot on the stove. You can easily substitute your own salsa or hot sauce of choice. But I am quite fond of making it from scratch!
Cook Nachos
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Meanwhile, lay out tortilla chips across a baking sheet.Cover until you can't see the baking sheet any longer. They should be touching, but not overlapping too much. You really just want to be able to add toppings to every chip without it getting too much on the baking sheet!Exactly how much chips you use is largely a matter of personal preference as well. I've never sat there carefully measuring chips! Roughly two handfuls usually equates to about a serving. I tend to cook far more than I actually need, though. So, as always, adjust to personal preference!
Spread rice and squash evenly across the tortilla chips.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the chips begin to toast.
Once the nachos are done cooking, remove from the oven and top with avocado dip and enchilada sauce.
Serve immediately. Once the nachos begin to cool down, the tortilla chips will absorb too much moisture and soften. Once this happens, there isn't a lot that you can do to crisp them up again!
I also have an entire article on The Fundamentals of Making Nachos with suggestions on settling the microwave vs. oven debate and give tips on serving size, topping order, and potential ways of reheating.
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