Well, it can be. But sometimes we like to make it more interesting.
See, if you're like me, you like black beans. But I find most of the black bean recipes out there rather tiresome. I can only eat so much black bean soup, and there aren't that many ways to jazz up a can of plain ol' black beans.
But nachos? There's a way. The black beans are earthy without being overbearing. As someone who is always trying to find new ways to eat canned beans without being consistently disappointed, this was a resounding success.
I would have totally added avocado, or maybe even made guac, but the sad fact is that I think you could actually kill someone with the avocados here at this time of year. They're literally hard as rocks.
Can you tell I'm missing California (mostly just being 30 minutes from Mexico?)
Anyway, this is perhaps the world's easiest weeknight dinner, and while it's not a health food, it's March. You've got time to go to the gym later.
Plus there's no antidote for the clouds of Portland like a bright, sunny, fresh salsa.
Just look at those colors!
~*~
Serves 4 (halve it for a single serving)
tortilla chips, amount to your liking (I use plain salted, but you could get interesting with types and flavors)
cheese*
1 can black beans
1 can corn (or you can use fresh if you've got it)
salsa
2 cups cherry tomatoes, diced
1/4 red onion, finely diced
2 tbsp cilantro, finely diced
juice of 2 limes
1 tsp sea salt
*I obviously used vegan cheese. I use the Trader Joe's vegan style mozzarella as the two base layers because it melts well, and even though its texture is...interesting in other applications it's actually not noticeable at all in nacho form. I then sprinkled some Daiya on top. You can experiment with different brands. If you're using normal cheese I'd advise pepper jack, cheddar, and/or mozzarella.
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Make your salsa: combine all the ingredients and let them sit for a while to give the flavors time to make friends. (You can add some of your corn in here too!) If you don't like the bite of raw red onion, dice that up first and let it sit with the lime juice to mellow out the flavor.
Spread out your tortilla chips on a cookie sheet or other baking pan. Sprinkle on your first layer of melty cheese. Broil until it's melted (mine only took about 30 seconds, so watch carefully!)
I find that this first cheese-melting under the broiler provides a nice layer for the beans and corn to sit on without making the chips on the bottom too soggy.
Drain your beans and corn well--we don't want any excess liquid to sog up our chips!
Add on your black beans and corn along with any other toppings. Add one more layer of your base cheese and sprinkle on your top cheese. Broil again until melted. Watch carefully!
Scoop nachos out and onto a plate. Sprinkle with salsa and eat immediately.
