Nachos in Mexico don't look like our roadhouse platters adorned with meat, salsa, cheese etc.
I recall a small bowl of deep-fried tortilla wedges and a fresh pico de gallo dipping sauce. And there were on a restaurant table like our bread basket as a precursor to a meal.
There is beauty in the simplicity of it. My version falls somewhere in between. I used corn tortillas that are very lightly salted like Organic Que Pasa ones (from Costco and Loblaws); a small amount of Cotija cheese, an authentic, salty, fresh Mexican cheese; Mexican Crema instead of the side sour cream, fairly authentic store-bought salsa which is fresh and has natural juices like Garden Fresh Organic Jack's Cantina Salsa (from Costco) instead of the tomato pasty sauce; and jalapeno peppers.
I have only seen Cotija cheese in Latin groceries. If you can't find it I would look for fresh, salty, white curds and grate them. Cotija doesn't melt into a creamy, runny topping like Monterey Jack. It softens just enough to cling to the nacho chips but not coat them.
If you are going for the more Mexican experience I suspect you will be on your own for making Mexican Cream. It isn't hard but you need to start, at least 3 hours and preferably the day ahead to give it time to thicken. Sour cream cut with lime juice could stand in if need be.
Don't use so much of any of them so they don't get soggy.
Jalapeno peppers can be fresh, chopped or pickled/chopped - your choice but I like the vinegar aspect of pickled.
Mexican Nachos
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Save Print Pin FacebookIngredients
- 175 grams Corn Tortilla chips enough to make a few layers on an 11" platter
- ½ cup Cotija Cheese or substitute grated, fresh, white cheese curds
- ½ cup Mexican Crema or sub sour cream with a tablespoon or 2 of fresh lime juice.
- ½ cup Salsa I use Organic Jack's Cantina Salsa
- ¼ cup pickled jalapenos, chopped
Instructions
- Layer tortilla chips on a microwaveable platter.
- Sprinkle cheese, then salsa, then jalapenos evenly over the chips.
- Drizzle with Mexican Crema.
- Microwave on high 2-3 minutes. Enough to warm the tortillas and toppings. Cheese will be slightly melted.
Notes
Nutrition
Yody
This looks delicious! Can I bake this in the oven or will it change the texture of the chips compared to microwaving it? I'd like to double the recipe, but I don't think that I would be able to fit the double amount in the microwave. Thank you.
thewineloverskitchen
You could bake it in the oven without any problem. And you could probably easily double the recipe for the oven. I would make sure it is one layer of chips per baking sheet. Oven 350 degrees F... maybe 20 minutes? Check afer 15 minutes? And maybe switch the 2 baking trays on the racks mid way.