You don’t need football to love a proper plate of nachos!
Jump to RecipeI can’t deny that Mexico is still fresh on my mind, and that (not the big football game/Rihanna concert that we all watched last weekend) was the inspiration behind these Best Ever Cinnamon Black Bean Nachos.
You don’t need a football game to long for nachos, and you don’t need to be just off the plane from Mexico to make them well. But you are going to want to have the right technique and that’s where this layering/sheet pan technique comes in.
From time to time, when we’re looking for something quick and easy to make for dinner in this house I whip out a sheet pan and make nachos with whatever we’ve got. This was a particularly great combination that we made up a few months ago, and then we confirmed this week that “YES – they’re the best we’ve ever made.” These aren’t the overloaded, rock-in-your-gut kind of nachos that you’d get at a sports bar. First off, every chip gets a little bit of the good stuff. Then the entire stack is loaded with intentional, fresh, super flavorful ingredients.
A few reasons. First of all, the flavors are just off the chain. The sweetness of the potato, the smokiness of the goat cheddar, and the depth of the beans cooked in cinnamon and bay. They’re also The Best because they made us feel The Best after eating them. Chips and beans are both rough, light and airy, which can mean lots of gas after consuming them. But, because we reduce the Vata in the beans by cooking them with spices, add the sweet potato, and don’t overload the chips with cheese and other hard to digest ingredients this meal actually ends up being just as flavorful and delicious and you want nachos to be, without leaving a big rock in your stomach. So you get to eat nachos, and feel great. Sounds like a “best ever” scenario to me, ya know?
In the eyes of Ayurveda, everything EVERYTHING can be a medicine so long as it’s used in moderation, and in the right circumstances. There aren’t foods that “are or are not Ayurvedic,” not even nachos. But to be clear, I have added an Ayurvedic twist to these nachos because I considered their qualities and how to balance them out.
Chips are rough and crunchy.
Beans are light and airy. And by grounding them with cinnamon and bay, I’ve reduced some of those qualities.
Sweet potatoes are grounding too, as is cheese.
Arugula is light, pungent and firey which balances out the sweetness and heaviness of the cheese.
And the pickled onions are sour and pungent, also balancing then sweetness.
When we strive to balance the qualities of the foods we eat, (not just about the macronutrients they contain) we’re thinking about our meals in an Ayurvedic way.
That's ok, just sign up or log in to see this recipe.