With no kitchen — yet — we make everything we possibly can on our newish barbecue, a Rogue from Napoleon, like these Nachos. Who would have guessed that nachos would benefit from smoking on the grill? But when you warm up chilies the flavor increases, and everything set in the same pan takes on a little of the roasted smell and carries a hint of the taste to the whole melted mound that we love and call nachos. This dish is a great way to use of small quantities of leftovers that just aren’t enough for a meal on their own. Cut any leftover meat into bite-size pieces. Add the end of a can of corn, or beans, or savory fruits like olives. Our garden is overflowing with squash, so a zucchini was slices and added to one iteration of bbq nachos.
We have an assortment of steam table pans that we use because they are stainless steel, a good thickness for baking, broiling or grilling, and inexpensive. This batch made for two. Chips – organic chia and quinoa by Late July – were placed in a half pan: 1/2 Size Super Pan V Stainless Steel Steam Table / Hotel Pan With 4.3 Quart Capacity, 10-3/8″ x 12-3/4″ x 2-1/2″ Deep.
Grate Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Colby or a combination of these or any semi-mild, well-melting cheese. Add rough diced fresh roasted green chilies and chopped fresh tomatoes. Sprigs of cilantro could be added after the pan is taken from the heat.
Pass around a bowl of freshly made guacamole, salsa or sour cream as desired. Can be appetizers for four, or a main course for two. Add a salad and you’ve got a healthy-enough meal.
If you day drink, a beer is great with a plate of nachos, but for this evening meal, we added the elegance of a red wine. But selected a special one from New Mexico, a Jaramillo Winery — a Norton. According to the bottle the Norton grape is the only American native that makes a decent wine.
Tasting notes: garnet color, medium body, not giving off a lot of smell which was just fine: earthy as the main smell, and tobacco, which is great with anything barbecued. Not fruity, but possibly that of cold blueberries or as the bottle suggested blackberries. It is described as big – something you need to compliment spicy food – and Wine Folly tells me that ‘big’ means very flavorful and possibly high tannins. I think so – high tannins, dry and also a bright acidity. Taste was big, but not like grape juice. It was complex in a spicy way.