Nachos w/ Calabaza Squash & Chocolate Curry
I'm particularly fond of utilizing leftovers for nachos. While curry and nachos might not be the most traditional of recipes. It's not as far fetched as it might seem! I season Latin American and Thai food quite similarly with cayenne pepper, coriander, and cumin. When you pair it with tortilla chips, sour cream, and hot sauce? The curry makes a quite delicious bean substitution. These leftover nachos are also a great option for when you're craving something quick and easy. I particularly like the sweetness of the calabaza squash and cocoa powder balanced out with the spiciness of the habaneros.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
Curry w/ Spicy Calabaza Squash & Chocolate
- 2 ½ c. calabaza roasted & puréed
- 2 c. walnuts raw, unsalted
- 5 habaneros
- 1/2 c. cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 ½ cans coconut cream
- 3 ½ cans water
- dash cayenne pepper
- dash coriander
- dash cumin
- dash nutmeg
- 16 oz. tofu (1 package)
- 1 tbsp. oil
Nachos
- 1/2 c. calabaza curry
- ~2 handfulls tortilla chips
- 1/4 c. queso fresco shredded or crumbled
- 1/8 c. parmesan shredded
- hefty dollop Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- dollop hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- Cook Chocolate and Calabaza Squash Curry. This takes several hours to cook and should be done at least the day before. That might sound daunting, but it's far simpler than it seems and is more time consuming than anything else! It also only requires a large pot and a skillet.
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 squash curry evenly across the tortilla chips.This acts largely like refried beans would in a typical nacho recipe. You can either spread across each of the chips or just drop little dollops across the chips.
- Sprinkle with queso fresco and parmesan.
- Top with a couple dollops of Greek yogurt or sour cream.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the chips begin to toast.
Serve
- Once the nachos are done cooking, remove from the oven and top with hot sauce of choice.
- 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!
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
- You can add sour cream, or Greek yogurt, either before or after cooking. I oscillate between the two. A high quality sour cream that melts into the nachos as they cook is incredibly delicious. However, sometimes it's nice to have a cold sour cream to dip the chips into. Particularly when they're both spicy and hot out of the oven.
- For a more in-depth article on nachos, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Nachos. I make suggestions on settling the microwave vs. oven debate and give suggestions on serving size, topping order, and potential reheating tips and tricks.