Amy's Cheddar-Loaded Nachos

My husband Juan and I love Mexican food and our store cupboard isn't complete without a stash of black beans, cumin, oregano and a strong hard cheese. We've been working our way round all of Neal's Yard Dairy's Cheddars and this time we used a combination of Westcombe Cheddar, Montgomery's Cheddar and Hafod which was delicious. We've experimented over the years with nachos, burritos, quesadillas, smoky black bean soup... I got creative recently and decided to combine elements from a few of our most repeated dishes, which has turned into this loaded nachos recipe. It's become a fast favourite. It's a messy eat, so a fork is recommended to scoop up what your fingers can't manage. 

INGREDIENTS (serves 2 generous portions)

• 500g Tortilla Chips
• 200g-300g grated Cheddar (the more, the better!)

For the Refried Beans:

• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp chipotle paste/powder
• 400g black beans
• 6 large tomatoes, roughly chopped (or a tin)

Others Toppings

• Salsa (tomatoes, juice of half a lime, handful fresh coriander, salt and pepper)
• Guacamole (avocado, juice of half a lime, fresh coriander, salt and pepper)
• Corn Salsa (cumin seeds, olive oil, small red onion, 150g tinned/frozen corn, fresh coriander, salt and pepper. Fry until corn blackens and starts to pop)
• Creme Fraiche or Sour Cream
• Jalapenos

METHOD

Cook the refried beans:

1. In a large dry pan, toast the cumin seeds until fragrant.
2. Add the olive oil, closely followed by the garlic, onion and salt.
3. Fry until the onion starts to brown, then add the oregano and chipotle.
4. Stir and cook for a minute or so, then add the black beans and mix well. I try to squash some of the beans at this point, with the back of the spoon against the side of the pan.
5. Once you have a good consistency with about half of the beans left whole and half smashed, add the tomatoes.
6. Stir well and cook for 10-15 minutes. Keep it moving so it doesn't stick.

Meanwhile, prepare your guacamole, corn and salsa toppings so they are ready to load.

Assembling the Nachos:

1. Split half the bag of tortilla chips into 2 wide bowls. Dollop a quarter of the refried beans into each bowl on top of the chips. Spread half the grated cheddar across the top of each.
2. Put under a hot grill just until the cheese starts to melt.
3. Load the rest of the tortilla chips over the top and cover with the remaining beans and cheddar cheese.
4. Pop back under the grill for a moment to start melting the cheese.

Now load up your bowl of nachos with your chosen toppings until it looks like a mountain of deliciousness!

Hot tip - Creme Fraiche is a must if you were generous with your chipotle...