Oven Baked Nachos

I love nachos, they make a great sharing starter for a dinner party, or a buffet item at a party, as they’re really quick and easy to make, and can be altered easily to suit everyone’s tastes. But they’re usually served piled up in a heap with the toppings dolloped on top. This looks good, but it means you can’t get to the nachos for all the toppings at first, and once you’ve eaten the top ones, you’re left with naked tortilla chips at the bottom. To rectify this, I build my nacho pile in layers – a layer of tortilla chips, then a layer of toppings and cheese, then another layer of tortilla chips, and so on. This way every nacho, even the very last one will be smothered in cheese and toppings. No boring, plain tortilla chips here!

I have included a really simple salsa recipe below, which I use on my nachos, but feel free to use shop-bought salsa instead. Equally, I don’t have a guacamole recipe, so I use shop-bought, but if you have one, by all means, use you’re own. I’m a bit of a woose when it comes to spice, so I haven’t used jalapenos, chillies or refried beans, but if you like your nachos with a kick, go to town, top them with whatever you like. Most plain corn tortilla chips are gluten free, but just double check the packet if this is a concern.

Plenty of topping, right down to the last Nacho

Ready in 25 mins (10 mins prep, 15 mins bake)

Ingredients:

2 fresh tomatoes, finely diced
The juice of half a lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed and finely chopped
A good pinch of mint, dried or fresh and finely chopped
A good pinch of salt
1x 180g-200g pack of plain or salted tortilla chips
150g of cheddar cheese, grated
Guacamole

Method:

Preheat oven to 200c / 180c fan / gas mark 6.
Put the tomatoes, lemon juice, garlic, mint and salt into a bowl and mix well.
Leave for a few minutes to infuse.

Spread half the packet of tortilla chips into the bottom of an oven proof dish and spread half the tomato salsa, a good amount of guacamole and half the cheese on top.