Cinco de Mayo Recipe: Rachael Ray’s Super Nachos
Food Network is helping you prepare for Cinco de Mayo by pooling the talents of their chefs for an unbelievable Mexican menu. Check out this recipe from Rachael Ray.
Super Nachos
Ingredients
2 bags corn tortilla chips in 2 colors or different flavors, such as blue corn, red corn, yellow corn, lime flavored, chili flavored or black bean chips — pick 2 favorites
Pico de Gallo Salsa:
4 vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped, for medium to hot heat level
1 small white onion, chopped
1/4 cup, 2 handfuls, cilantro leaves, finely chopped — substitute parsley if cilantro is not to your liking
Salt
Beef and Beans Topping:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground sirloin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dark chili powder
1 1/2 ground cumin, half a palmful
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper sauce, giving you medium to hot heat level
1 can black beans, 15 ounces, drained
Cheese Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
3/4 pound pepper jack cheese, shredded, about 2 1/2 cups
Additional toppings to choose from, optional:
Sour cream
Chopped scallions
Chopped black olives
Diced pimento
Sliced avocado, dressed with lemon juice
Hot pepper sauces
Directions
- Arrange a mixture of 2 varieties of corn chips on a very large platter or use your broiler pan as a platter.
- Combine salsa ingredients in a bowl and set aside for flavors to marry.
- Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, onion and peppers to the pan and saute 2 minutes, then add meat and crumble with wooden spoon. Season meat with salt, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper sauce. Cook meat 5 minutes, then stir in beans and reduce heat to low.
- In a medium sauce pot, melt butter and add flour to it. Cook flour and butter 1 to 2 minutes over moderate heat, then whisk in milk. When milk comes to a bubble, stir in cheese with a wooden spoon. Remove cheese sauce from the heat.
- Pour cheese sauce evenly over the massive spread of chips and top evenly with beef and beans and the pico de gallo. UBER NACHOS! Serve immediately as is or, garnish with your choice of extra toppings from the toppings list.
Recipe: Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup
The folks over at Food Network Magazine chatted me up the other day and said, “Hey, Stu, you want some St. Paddy’s Day recipes?” To which I responded, “Heh, yeah!” Check this one out for Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup. Read on!
| Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup |
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 3 stalks celery, quartered
- 3 medium carrots, quartered
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 pound plum tomatoes, halved
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 4 cups chopped green cabbage (about 1/4 medium head)
- 1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
- 3/4 cup quick-cooking barley
- 1/4 pound corned beef, cut into thin strips (use leftovers or deli meat)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Pulse the onion, celery and carrots in a food processor until they are pea-size pieces.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add the chopped onion, celery and carrots and the allspice and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
- Transfer the tomatoes to the pot and add the beef broth, cabbage, potatoes, barley and 4 cups water; cover and bring to a boil.
- Uncover, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the potatoes and barley are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the corned beef and season with salt and pepper.
Per serving: Calories 352; Fat 11 g (Saturated 6 g); Cholesterol 38 mg; Sodium 349 mg; Carbohydrate 50 g; Fiber 9 g; Protein 16 g
Photograph by Antonis Achilleos
