Chorizo nachos

Just down the road from Crystal Palace there is a lovely pub in East Dulwich called The Bishop. They serve delicious food and lovely beer. My friend took me there one night and suggested I try the chorizo nachos as they were very tasty.

Indeed they were EXTREMELY tasty! Think rich paprika tasting juices from the chorizo cooked into minced meat (I'm still not sure if it's pork or beef, and I keep forgetting to ask!), spooned over corn chips and topped with a dash of guacamole, cheese and sour cream. To me this is heaven.

I wanted to create this heaven in my own kitchen. I created this recipe in the hope to satisfy my chorizo nacho urges. Amazingly the first attempt was a success, I didn't poison myself OR the boyfriend and we've got two more helpings in the freezer for further weekend eating.

I tweaked the recipe again a couple of weeks later and managed to serve it to a large group of people. No one got food poisoning, phew!

I usually make this a day in advance and then reheat. The flavours are much better that way! Enjoy!

Angela's Chorizo Nachos

What you'll need:

olive oil

1/2 small white onion, finely diced

1/2 small red onion, finely diced

1/2 red pepper, finely diced

1 red chilli, finely diced (I left the seeds out, but that's up to you)

500 grams lean pork mince

250 grams chorizo sausage, diced and roughly minced using a hand blender

1 tin red kidney beans in chilli sauce

1 tsp mild paprika

1 tsp hot paprika

worstershire sauce

2 tbsp tomato puree (approx, add to taste)

black pepper to taste

1 ham stock cube, dissolved in 250ml water, approx

To serve:

plain salted tortilla chips

grated cheddar cheese

creme fraiche (I always use the 50% less fat, tastes EXACTLY the same)

guacamole

tabasco sauce (optional added heat!)

How to make them:

1. In a large heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat and add the white onion, red onion and red pepper. Cook until softened (do not brown) and then add the red chilli. Cook for a further few minutes, until the chilli is softened too. 
2. Remove from the heat and tip the onion mixture into a bowl. Set aside.
3. Add a dash of olive oil back into the pan and brown the pork mince. Do this in batches depending on the size of your pan. Fry it, don't boil it. Tip the pork mixture into a bowl. Set aside.
4. Add another dash of olive oil into the pan and add the minced chorizo sausage and cook over a medium to low heat. The oil from the chorizo should start to seep into the pan, turning it orange. 
5. Add the onion, red pepper and chilli mixture to the chorizo. Mix well.
6. Add the pork mince and any juice into the chorizo mixture. Mix well.
7. Keep this on a medium heat and make sure that everything is mixed well. Add the tin of red kidney beans, paprika, a glug of Worcestershire sauce and the tomato puree. Season with black pepper.
8. You should have a nice saucy chilli now. Add a dash of your ham stock and stir.
9. Pop a lid on it, turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and simmer away for 30 to 60 minutes. Keep adding a little of the ham stock if it starts to get too dry. Becareful it doesn't get to salty.

How to serve:

I served these two different ways. The first one I baked in the oven and the other we just served in individual small bowls with the ingredients layered on top of each other. Both very yummy!

Option 1 - the messy way

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees C
2. In a large oven dish, first put a layer of corn chips, then spread with chorizo mince, then a layer of cheese.
3. Repeat this until you fill the oven dish, making sure the last layer is grated cheese and also make sure you are very generous with it!
4. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and golden.
5. Serve smothered with guacamole, creme fraiche and a splash of tabasco sauce.
6. EAT!

Option 2 - good for large groups

In individual dishes, use a layer of corn chips, chorizo mince, cheese then guacamole and creme fraiche. Serve.

I did it this way for the large groups as we were using paper and plastic plates...not a good idea to put into the oven, otherwise it's melted cheese AND plastic!

Delicious times at Wahaca

I love food that is interesting in not only flavour, but colour and texture too.  So bring on the culinary delights at Wahaca - Mexican Market Eating.

We went to the original restaurant based in Covent Garden, located along Chandos Place.  You cannot book a table at Wahaca, so you just need to turn up when you want to eat.  We went on a Saturday, around 1pm.  Given there were only 2 of us, we got a seat straight away.  Parties of 4 or more had a little wait.

The restaurant was thriving and full with happy customers, some with tables full of food, others sipping on cocktails.  The decor is simple and bright, with a paper menu on the table.  We had a very helpful waitress who offered to talk us through the menu and made suggestions on what we might want to eat.  We were offered tortilla chips with a variety of dips and our drink order taken while we made a decision on what to order.

We've been a couple of times before, but wanted to try a variety of street food.  I always think this is similar to the Spanish tapas style of eating, so you order 2-3 dishes per person and share it all.  It was suggested we try the Wahaca Selection (£19.95) which gives you the favourites from the Street Food menu for 2 people.

The food started coming out within 10 minutes and by 20 minutes all five dishes were placed in front of us.  We hungrily worked our way through:

Pork pibil taco - Slow cooked pork in their own special Yucatecan marinade.

Broad bean & feta quesadella - Crushed new potatoes, broad beans, peas, feta and mint.

Chicken tinga tacos - Tender chicken in their own smoky chipotle sauce.

Black bean tostadas - Wahaca's special re-fried beans topped with avocado salsa, crema, Lancashire cheese and fresh tomato salsa.

Summery new potato taquitos - Seasonal potatoes, shredded lettuce, feta and their own habanero salsa.

Each plate was full of flavour and different to the rest.  My favourite meat dish was the chicken tinga tacos and then the summer new potato taquitos vegetarian dish went down a treat.  Both mouth mouthwatering delicious!  We washed this down with a couple of Pacifico Clara, Mexican beers, which was recommended by the Waitress.

I rate Wahaca very high on my list of great places to eat in London, they can do no wrong with their great attentive service, exciting food and good value for money.

Wahaca was co-founded by Thomasina Miers who won MasterChef in 2005.