Food Waste Free Recipes

Nachos and Chill

  • Appetizer
  • Preparation Time: 20 minutes
  • Serves: 2
  • Difficulty: Medium
Recipe provided by Joel Gamoran (@joelgamoran)

When it comes to nachos, chips aren’t the only food that make a great base. In this recipe, I substitute out chips for baked sweet potato chips. Seasoned with Morton® Himalayan Coarse Pink Salt to add a pop of flavor with every bite, the nachos are topped with pepper jack cheese sauce, sliced scallions and serrano peppers for some crunch. A drizzle of my hot honey rounds out the whole dish, turning these nachos from ordinary to extraordinary!

Food Waste Tip:
Slicing peppers to add to a recipe and don't know what to do with the stems and seeds? Save them to use in this hot honey! This will add a kick to your honey, creating a spicy sweet flavor that can be used as a topping for nachos, pizza or even as a sidecar on your favorite charcuterie board. Also, potatoes are a very commonly wasted food so this recipe is a great use for those sweet potatoes left in your pantry and perfect for a elevated appetizer.

Ingredients

  • 1 large sweet potato, washed
  • 1 teaspoon Morton® Himalayan Coarse Pink Salt
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
  • 2 ounces white sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded

MORTON®
COARSE HIMALAYAN PINK SALT

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. To prepare the sweet potatoes, slice them as thin as you can, about ¼ inch thick.

  3. Place the sweet potatoes onto the prepared baking sheet and spread them evenly so that they are in one layer. Season with Morton® Himalayan Coarse Pink Salt.

  4. Place the sheet tray in the oven to cook for 30 minutes. Halfway through, turn over each of the potato slices and continue to bake for the remainder of time. Be sure to keep an eye on the chips in case your oven has a few hot spots. When you remove the chips, they may still look a little soft, but will crisp up as they cool.

  5. Meanwhile, prepare the cheese sauce. To a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and allow it to melt.

  6. Whisk in the flour to make a roux and allow the flour to cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 15 seconds so it doesn’t burn.

  7. When the roux has turned a light golden brown color, slowly stream in the milk, whisking the whole time as you pour. Use a rubber spatula to make sure to get all of the roux on the sides of the pot incorporated. The sauce should begin to thicken after it starts to come to a low boil.

  8. Remove the sauce from the heat and add in the shredded cheeses, whisking the whole time, until fully incorporated, then set aside.

  9. When the sweet potato chips are done, remove them from the oven and assemble half of them on a platter or individual plates.

  10. Begin the nacho assembly by first pouring some of the cheese sauce over the sweet potatoes. Add the remaining sweet potatoes on top and then pour on some more of the cheese sauce.

     

  11. Finish assembling by drizzling with the hot honey and evenly sprinkling on the sliced serranos, cilantro and scallions.

Hot Honey Ingredients:

  •  ½ cup honey
  • Top 1 inch, including stems from 2 serrano peppers

Instructions:

  1. To a small saucepan over medium heat, add the honey and stems from a serrano pepper.
  2. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
  4. Strain the honey through a fine mesh strainer into a jar with an airtight lid.
    Use or store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.