Irish Nachos

I know, I know, who’s ever heard of Irish Nachos?  Well I hadn’t either, but I was channel surfing last weekend and hit on some special on the Travel Channel where they were talking nachos, and they mentioned some Irish pub somewhere that made nachos using potatoes.  Of course they made theirs by making fries.  I healthied it up a bit by baking the potatoes.  We declared this a really interesting variation on our usual nachos.

 

Ingredients:

1 large russet potato
1 oz. smoked cheddar
1 oz. monterey jack cheese
1 pound ground beef
2 cups black beans
1/4 cup taco seasoning
1 packet Sazon
1 heaping teaspoon ancho chili powder
1 cup water
garlic powder
cumin
ancho chili powder
salt
pepper
olive oil
sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Slice the potato thin (I used a mandolin slicer on medium thickness).
Toss potatoes in olive oil.
Lay potatoes out on a baking rack suspended over a baking sheet.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and ancho chili powder.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, brown your beef.
Drain and rinse.
Add back to your skillet with the black beans, water, Sazon, heaping teaspoon of ancho chili powder.  Bring to a boil and simmer until liquid is reduced.
Once the potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and layer them in a cast iron skillet (either 2 small ones or 1 huge one).
Top with 2/3rds of the beef and bean mixture (we used the rest for burritos).
Top with the cheese.
Pop back in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the cheese is all melty.
Remove from oven and add sour cream.
Enjoy!

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