Moral of the story: These nachos are nothing short of a perfect, blonde-haired doe-eyed Labrador named Matilda. Or Gracie. Or Genevieve. She will be all things to you.
But yeah...I was kidding about the "quick" part. Haha. These nachos need time but most of it can be done days in advance and the actual set-up takes no time at all. You can still pretend to have it all together when you friends gasp at how quickly you got it set up. The sauces are so versatile and can used with crudites, in sandwiches and in pasta dishes, so it's a win-win. Let's get cracking.
The Ultimate Vegan Nachos with Sour Cream and Cheddar Cheese Sauce (Video)
YIELDS
4 servings
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
- 4 Yukon Gold potatoes
- Taco Tempeh
- 1 block (+/- 300g) Tempeh
- 3–4 tbls Taco Seasoning
- 2 tsp salt
- 6 tbls oil
- Salsa
- 200g/ 1 punnet cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 onion (red or white)
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small bunch cilantro
- 1 small, red chili (de-seeded)
- 1/2 - 1 tsp pink salt
- 1, whole lime
- Sour Cream
- 1 cup cashew
- 2 tbls raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp dill, dried
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbls olive oil
- 1.25 cup water
- Cheddar Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup cashew
- 2 pieces sundried tomato
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 - 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 drops liquid smoke
- 1.5 tsp pink salt
- 1.25 cups water
- 1 tsp **agar
- Garnish
- sliced avocado
Directions
Potatoes (this step should only be done an hour before serving)
Yukon is best, but use what is available, except purple majestic. They tend to dry out too much.
1. Boil the potatoes in water that has been salted with 1.5 tsp salt.
2. When they are al dente, strain then place on a lined oven sheet with enough space in between.
3. Use a mallet or stone pestle and gently smash the potatoes open in the middle.
4. Brush with oil and broil until the edges are crunchy and browned.
Taco Tempeh
1. Chop up a block of tempeh until it is minced.
2. Add the taco seasoning, salt and 2 out of the 6 tbls of oil. Leave it to marinate overnight.
3. You can skip that step if you are pressed for time and simply chop up the tempeh and sauté it with taco seasoning and salt until well-cooked.
4. Set aside.
Salsa (do this step as your guests arrive)
1. Chop up the cherry tomatoes into small cubes and leave to strain over a bowl so the juices don’t linger. No one likes a soggy salsa.
2. Finely chop the onion and add that in while the tomatoes are straining.
3. Next, add minced garlic and chili and salt. Mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, get your finely finely chopped cilantro ready.
5. And in yet another bowl, have your squeezed lime juice ready.
6. When you are about to serve, spoon the salsa into a clean bowl and add the cilantro and lime juice. It’s makes a world of difference to take care in these steps for the freshest flavors and crunchiest textures.
Sour Cream (do this step up to 4 days in advance)
1. Soak the nuts for 8 hours, rinse well.
2. Blend them with the rest of the sour cream ingredients for about 3 minutes until you render a silky texture.
3. Taste. It should has a punchy, sour cream flavour. Add more lemon or vinegar if you need.
4. Pour into a mason jar and refrigerate.
Cheddar Cheese Sauce
1. Soak the nuts for 8 hours, rinse well.
2. Blend them with the rest of the cheddar ingredients for about 3 minutes until you render a silky texture. Please note, the agar is totally optional. You can skip this if you want.
3. The flavor should be staunch and cheddary with a hit of smokiness.
4. If you did not add agar, then scoop into a mason jar/container and refrigerate.
5. If you added agar, scoop the mixture out then add to a pan and heat up over medium heat.
6. Keep stirring as it heats up, it will soon come away clean from the sides and take on a sheen.
7. Remove it from the heat once this happens (usually 4 min).
8. Pour into a jar and refrigerate.
Assembly
1. Get a large serving plate out and arrange your just-out-the-oven roasted potatoes in the centre of the plate.
2. Spoon generous ladles of taco tempeh on top.
3. Spoon fresh salsa over tempeh.
4. Now we add generous scoops of sour cream.
5. Next, we add a few dollops of cheddar cheese sauce.
6. Finally, place half a sliced avocado on top in a fan shape.
7. Take a bow. Thank everyone for the applause.
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Photo & video: Prashantha Lachanna
