Beef nachos with easy cheese sauce

Using evaporated milk in your cheese sauce instead of a flour and butter-based roux saves not only time and effort, but the lower water content in evaporated milk helps create a creamy sauce less prone to splitting, making it more foolproof for beginner cooks.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 2 cups (500 ml) vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 20 corn tortillas, cut into triangles
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 brown onion, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 kg beef mince
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• Black pepper, to season
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 400 g can diced tomatoes
• Sour cream, to serve
• ¼ cup sliced pickled jalapenos, to serve
• Tabasco, or other hot sauce, to serve
• Lime wedges, to serve

For the cheese sauce 

• 1 can (340 ml) evaporated milk
• 2 cups grated cheese

For the salsa 

• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 20 cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 6 sprigs coriander, roughly chopped
• ½ lime, juiced
• Salt, to season

For the guacamole

• 2 avocados
• 1 lime, juiced
• Salt, to season

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan or wok, heat the vegetable oil for deep-frying to 180˚C. When hot, fry the tortilla triangles in batches, until golden-brown. Remove from the oil and season with salt. Set aside.

2. For the meat sauce, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes, then add the beef and fry until browned. Add the spices, salt and pepper and fry until fragrant. Add the soy sauce and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat.

3. For the cheese sauce, in a small saucepan, bring the evaporated milk to a simmer, stirring occasionally, to ensure it doesn’t burn on the bottom, and add the cheese, stirring to create a smooth, thick sauce.

4. For the salsa, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and toss together.

5. For the guacamole, peel and deseed the avocados and place in a bowl. Add the lime juice and salt and mash with a fork.

6. Place the corn chips on a serving platter and spoon over the meat mixture. Pour over the cheese sauce, scatter with the salsa, and top with dollops of guacamole, and sour cream. Scatter with the jalapenos and serve with hot sauce and extra lime wedges.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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