Summery Nachos
with lime-marinated onions, corn, cotija, avocado, and jalapeño
Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’re somehow reading this and aren’t yet subscribed, be sure to do so below. You can expect recipes in your inbox every Tuesday, and paid subscribers get even more!
CATCH UP!
In case you missed it: Last week, paid subscribers got a bonus recipe: A Crispy "Chick"n Bowl with Fennel Apple Slaw, Marinated Cucumbers, and Honey Mustard Drizzle. No fake chicken here, just breaded, roasted chickpeas mixed with some ingredients you'd find inside a fancy crispy chicken sandwich.
Coming this Thursday for paid subscribers: A while back, I surveyed my audience about the hardest part of eating vegetarian meals. This week, paid subscribers are getting the solutions to these problems! “All The Solutions To Your Vegetarian Meal Struggles” is coming to you Thursday!
As a reminder, when you become a paid subscriber, you get access to all previous paid posts, not just new ones!! So no stress if you missed something. Everything is available in the archive. Subscribe below if you want in on all the action.
Recipe I’m Loving: Last week, I went camping in Yosemite National Park. Not only was it beautiful and such a lovely time, but we made some amazing meals camping. My favorite was the foil-packet gnocchi we made over the fire. It was based on this recipe from Delish. I didn’t use the corn or white wine, and I added in some Italian seasoning, but it may have been the best camping meal I’ve ever made.
Life updates: Not too many major updates over here. We’re still looking for houses, and again, still terrified of the market, so not making many moves (ha). We’ve also started to plan out when we are going to get married (it’s looking like spring of 2022), and now that I’m typing this out I feel weird haha. I sound more adult than I feel, which maybe is okay since everyone polled on Instagram seems to think I’m 25! Lol. I’ll take it.
RECIPE!
I love nachos all year round, but there’s something about the dish that screams summer to me. Maybe it’s because I picture eating it after a long day on the beach, but whatever it is that triggers that nostalgia, I crave it on particularly sunny days.
There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with a classic nacho, but I’ve been there and done that and wanted to switch things up a bit. These nachos are lightly inspired by Mexican corn (esquites and elote), with the pairing of corn and cotija, a dry, firm and salty Mexican cheese that is used on traditional elote.
I melted some of the cotija onto the tortilla chips so everything stays together, but I also sprinkled a good bit on top so you get that nice, crumbly texture. The red onion is marinated in lime juice, and even more lime is squeezed on top to lean into that fresh, citrus feel. Jalapeños are always optional, but recommended.
As always, be sure to tag me on Instagram (@kalememaybe) if you make this dish!
Summery Nachos
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
Juice of 2 limes, divided
1 tbsp ghee or butter
10 oz frozen corn (not defrosted)
1 tsp garlic powder
Pinch of salt
1 5 oz bag of tortilla chips (I used Siete)
5 oz cotija cheese, divided
1/2 avocado, cubed
1/2 jalapeño, thinly sliced
Cilantro, to top
1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Add sliced red onion and juice of 1 lime to a bowl. Coat the red onion in the lime juice, and let marinate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Heat up ghee/butter in a large pan on medium heat. Add the corn, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt, and cook for 5-6 minutes until the outside of the kernels just starts to char, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread the chips evenly on the baking sheet. Sprinkle on half of the cotija. Bake for 5-6 minutes until chips just start to toast and cotija has melted slightly.
4. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a plate/platter, if desired. Top with the corn, the remaining cotija, avocado, jalapeno, and a squeeze of the remaining lime. Top with fresh cilantro if desired.
To make sure you don’t miss out on anything moving forward, become a paid subscriber! Thursday posts are for paid subscribers only, and they include more recipes, essays, tips, and more! It’s just $5/month or $50/year. You can read more about what that entails here.