Plantain Nachos

The Super Bowl is almost here! I love having the excuse to whip up a bunch of fun appetizers and if you’re not in the mood for football chicken cakes, I have the most mouth watering snack for you – plantain nachos! These are my absolute favorite nachos of all time and I’ve been waiting for the Super Bowl to share the recipe with you – I just LOVE them! I first had plantain nachos at the Calypso Café in Chicago and was inspired to come up with my own recipe after we moved to Boston when I found myself craving them regularly. You seriously need to make these if you like plantains – just looking at the pictures makes me drool because they are that good!

I don’t get my fryer out often, but it’s completely worth doing so to make homemade plantain chips. They are 100 times better than the ones you can buy at the store and really take these nachos over the top. The fresh plantain chips are topped with a heavenly black bean sauce, cheddar cheese, and pico de gallo. Apolinaras and I usually devour half a batch by ourselves for lunch one day (don’t judge!), and then warm the leftovers up the next day in the oven, but they are best fresh. Oh, and I wrote out the recipe for how much black bean sauce you’ll need for the nachos, but I always actually double it and use the extra sauce to spice up chicken breasts. Enjoy!

Plantain Nachos
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Pico de Gallo:
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt

Black Bean Sauce:
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 15.5-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (about 3/4 cup)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of half a lime

Plantain Chips:
Vegetable oil for frying
3 green plantains, peeled
1 teaspoon sea salt

Remaining Ingredients for Nacho Assembly:
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

To prepare the pico de gallo, mix the tomatoes, red onion, lime juice, cilantro and salt together in a small bowl. Allow to rest for an hour at room temperature to let the flavors blend.

Prepare the black bean sauce by heating olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeno and sauté for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add garlic and sauté an additional minute. Place black beans, vegetable mix, cumin, salt, and lime juice in a food processor; pulse until well blended.

To prepare the plantain chips, heat vegetable oil in a deep-fryer to 375˚F. Cut the plantains in half and slice them lengthwise into long thin strips (no more than 1/8-inch thick). Deep fry the plantain strips, in small batches, until golden brown on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chips to a paper towel-lined pan to drain. Cool and season with salt.

To assemble the nachos, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lay 1/2 of the chips on a large baking sheet covered with foil. Top the chips with half the bean sauce, in small spoonfuls, making sure to evenly cover each chip. Sprinkle the bean-covered chips evenly with half the shredded cheeses. Spread the remaining chips on top of the first layer and repeat the process of covering them with the remaining black bean sauce and cheeses. Bake at 350˚F until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to sprinkle the pico de gallo evenly over the nachos, making sure to drain out any extra liquid. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 416 calories, 24.9g fat, 7.0g fiber, 7.9g protein per serving
Cost: $0.83 per serving