Healthy Nachos? Yes, It’s Possible

Try these out on your Super Bowl party gatherers.

PHOTOS BY LEAH LIZARONDO

 

This post may require a big leap of faith. For vegans or dairy avoiders, not quite so much — because they have been in search of queso melto that doesn’t reek of artificial ingredients.

But seriously, this sauce is insane. I don’t want you to take my word for it — I want you to forgive the longish ingredient list and give it a try.

It’s a variation on my first Brazen Kitchen post here — Hack the Mac, a vegan mac and cheese recipe from VegNews Magazine that I since have revised by taking out the fake “butter.” And I must say I am in love with how it has been refined. I’ve added miso and sauerkraut, two fermented ingredients that give this sauce big umami and a hit of funkiness that we want in traditional cheese sauce.

To be clear: I don’t love this sauce because it does a good job of giving us ersatz cheese. I love this sauce because it’s just plain good. AND — as with all BK recipes —it’s just good for you. Between the veggies in the sauce and the probiotics in the miso and sauerkraut, you finally can have some righteous nachos!

Really. I mean it. Try this recipe.

It’s vegan. It’s gluten-free. And it’s especially for you skeptics. 😉
 

 

Super Bowl Super-loaded Nachos

Ingredients:

• 1 bag organic blue corn tortilla chips
• 1 recipe of Mackin’ (Not) Cheese Sauce (below)
• 1 bottle pimiento stuffed olives, drained and sliced
• 1 can refried pinto beans
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 bottle of your favorite salsa

 

Pick your favorite toppings:

• sliced jalapenos
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup chopped red onions
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced green onions (white parts only)
• chopped avocados

 

Mackin’ (Not) Cheese Sauce

Ingredients, part one:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons shallots, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup red potatoes, peeled and chopped
• ¼ cup carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1/3 cup onion, peeled and chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 cup water

Ingredients, part two:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ cup raw cashews
• ¼ cup good vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon mellow white miso
• ½ cup sauerkraut
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon paprika

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion and water for the cheese sauce, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.
3. In a blender, process the rest of the sauce ingredients.
4. Add softened vegetables and cooking water to the blender and process until perfectly smooth.
5. Spread tortilla chips on a large baking tray.
6. Spread sauce over tortillas and layer the rest of the ingredients.
7. Bake in the oven until the sauce is hot and bubbly — about 20 minutes.
8. Serve hot.