Reader Recipes | T. Wise

Our favorite British hunt companion and English teacher T. Wise sent us his newly devised signature nacho dish. We’ve crawled through the bars of London and Oxford with him in search of something bordering on good. Since that rather poor introduction to nachos, Wise has moved to greener pastures, Mexico to be exact, and his understanding of the potential of the nacho has increased. Thank you Wise, you earn the distinction of being the first contributor to READER RECIPES.

As a nacho lover I have come a long way in terms of standards and quality and it is a great honor to pen a guest post on this wonderful blog (can’t help but feel it would make a great book – I’d publish you lads!). I currently live in Mexico but I come from a land that is horribly short of good nachos, that land being England. In fact, I believe it was my recipe that informed the “British Nachos” post (Doritos, grated cheese, microwave, disgusting). Now, I no longer work at Harrods, but I do love nachos and since those heady, stomach turning days I have sought an education in the fine art of nacho preparation. I have broadened my horizons, sampling far and wide, a young Mexican chef took me under his wing and I’ve even supped on a fine plate concocted by one of the authors…and now I am finally ready to go it alone. I can now make a quite delicious plate of nachos.

Ingredients:

Totopos de Maize Redonditos (round maize chips, lightly salted, one pack)
Nacho cheese sauce
Oaxaca cheese
Frijoles (half a tin)
Onion
Tomato
Chile
Sour Cream (generous dollops)
Delicious Michelada (optional)

Method

It being a special occasion I washed both pots and hands before starting. First I take some chopped onion and lightly fry it in some oil, then add the cheese sauce. Sadly I do purchase this and it is rather a “stadium sauce” but the super mercardo now stocks a third brand which is a lot nicer than the other 2 options. I don’t actually curdle my own cheese either, I buy Oaxaca cheese in a packet, this I break into small pieces and add to the mix, along with the beans, and fold together until it gets a bit melty.

While this is happening I fill a large plate with chips and chop up 1 tomato which I find adds a cool freshness to the warm greasy mixture. The most important element in good preparation (often overlooked in commercially available nachos) is layering – I don’t want any chips to be left high and dry! I now pour most of the sauce onto the bed of nachos and sprinkle on the tomato and add a few chiles. A word on the chiles, I used to eat a ton of chile but I reached an unfortunate threshold and I now have to go steady on the fiery blighters! So, add to taste. Time now for the second, crowning, layer of chips with the rest of the sauce poured on top, again adding the tomato and chile. I like to top off with a huge dollop of sour cream, as you can see in the picture it is rather an excessive amount but I do like to get through at least 1 Litre in an average week.

All that’s left to do is pour the michelada (a recipe for another day) and enjoy this huge plate of nachos. Now, when it comes to nachos, I prefer to dine alone. At least, I don’t like to share a plate because there is always the element of competition to ensure one devours one’s fair share and one’s fellow dinner always takes the particularly loaded chip one had one’s eye on! However, given the astounding size of this portion I would probably do well to share…alas, tonight I dine solo.

I do recognize that there are limitations to this recipe, there is no grilling for instance. This is because I do not own a grill. There is no baking either, because I do not own an oven. In an ideal world I would add delicious shredded chicken but I am far to lazy to buy and prepare it (it would certainly scupper the 10 minute supper) so I leave that one to the perfectionists and remain a dreamer. All in all I would give them a 6 on 10, it is rather a mushy mixture by the time one scrabbles for the last scraps but it is a satisfying and delicious meal – buen provecho!