MEXICAN SPICED BEEF NACHOS

I have been a bit slack on the cooking front recently and haven't tried anything new - much to Arabella's delight….she always asks me to repeat old favourite recipes like Pascal's Pasta Carbonara and Squash and Bacon Squeak with Poached Eggs and for once I did. However it is a new month and so now new recipes….

This is a great one from Lorraine's morning TV show - a twist on nachos - it took about 35 minutes to cook.

Ingredients for 4 people:

500g minced beef
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
200g tin of sweetcorn
240g tin of chopped tomatoes (I bought a 410g tin by mistake - it didn't really matter)
410g tin of pinto beans (I couldn't find these so used kidney beans)
1 tsp of chilli powder (I left this out as I don't like spice)
250ml of beef stock
1 tsp cumin
A pinch of dried chilli flakes (I left this out as I don't like spice)
Half a tsp of paprika
Salt and pepper
4 handfuls of nachos (we used a combination of cheese and lightly salted)
200g of grated cheddar cheese (I probably used slightly more as I am a cheese fanatic)

To serve:
Guacamole
Sour cream
Fresh chopped coriander

Heat a large pan to a medium heat and add the oil, minced beef and chopped onion. Seal all over so the minced is browned - this took about 5 minutes.

Next add the garlic, oregano, mixed spices and salt and pepper (season generously). Stir and mix well for a couple of minutes so it is all combined.

Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, beans and sweetcorn and mix together.

Add a lid and cook over a low heat for 25 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Pour the mince into a gratin dish.

Cover with nachos and grated cheese.

Pop under a medium grill until the cheese is melted and the nachos are browned (this took me 4 minutes).

Serve with a bog dollop of guacamole and sour cream and a sprinkling of coriander - then tuck in!

We love Mexican food in our house especially tacos and we absolutely adored this too - a great combination of flavours and the cheesy nachos were a real treat. Even though we left the chilli out, I think next time we will add it to give the dish a bit of a kick. If you didn't have all the spices, you could always just use a packet of taco seasoning instead. It is super easy and both an adult and kid pleaser - I can't wait to cook this again soon.