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Nachos w/ Calabaza Squash Rice & Avocado

Nachos w/ Calabaza Squash, Rice, & Avocados

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.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Latin American, Mexican
Servings 2 servings

Equipment

  • Baking Sheet
  • Oven

Ingredients
  

Brown Rice

  • 1/2 c. ambercup squash
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 red onion
  • 3 medium tomatoes
  • 2 chili peppers
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • dash cumin
  • dash coriander
  • dash cayenne pepper
  • dash salt
  • dash pepper
  • 1 c. brown rice
  • 2 ½ c. water
  • 3 bay leaves

Calabaza Squash

  • 1 calabaza squash roasted & puréed

Avocado Dip

  • 3 avocados
  • 1 Japanese eggplant
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 limes juiced
  • 3/4 c. Greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp. tahini
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • dash salt
  • dash pepper

Enchilada Sauce

  • 12 Thai chilis
  • 20 cherry tomatoes (or 2 large tomatoes)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • dash salt
  • dash pepper
  • 3 c. water

Nachos

  • ~1/3 c. brown rice
  • ~1/3 c. calabaza squash
  • ~2 handfulls tortilla chips
  • 1/2 c. cheddar cheese
  • 1/3 c. avocado dip
  • dollop enchilada sauce

Instructions
 

Prepare Ingredients

  • 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 with Avocado 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!

Tips, Tricks, & Notes