Breakfast Nachos

Breakfast nachos? Think of this as a cross between nachos and heuvos rancheros. An excellent brunch dish, this can also be served for a casual Sunday night supper. I must say, that when my oldest daughter said that she was making breakfast nachos I was a little bit skeptical. When I saw her photos I was sold!

This is my version; it has been in the back of my mind for a while. I was trying to think of something to make that would allow me to use up my ripe avocado, and realised that there were perfect bits and pieces in the fridge to make this meal.

I found some cooked andouille sausage, some cooked corn, half a red pepper, half a large red onion, 3 green onions, my tortillas and of course the avocado.

I made my own tortilla chips, as I wanted to use the open bag of tortillas...I also did not feel like heading out to the store for one thing!

Cut into small triangles:

4 x 10" flour tortillas.

Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and ground cumin. Spread in a single layer on baking sheets and place in a 350F oven to bake.

Bake until the tortilla chips are golden and crisp. They bake quickly, so keep an eye on them.

Mine took about 5 - 8 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

In a hot pan, cook (or place the cooked sausage):

1 andouille sausage, skin removed
1/4 large red onion, minced

Cook over a medium heat until the onion starts to soften.

Add:

3/4 cup corn kernels
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced

Cook until the corn starts to caramelize and the pepper is soft.

Taste and adjust seasoning.




When you are ready to serve the nachos, heat the oven to 350F.  You can build the nachos on individual plates or on a large sharing plate. I did individual plates.

Put down a layer of tortilla chips, and sprinkle with grated cheese. I used a combination of cheddar and smoked white cheddar.

Add some of the cooked sausage mixture.

Repeat the layering until you have used all the tortilla chips and sausage.

Place into a 350F oven to heat everything, and to melt the cheese.





Now is the time to cook your eggs. I made scrambled eggs, using the 3 green onions that I had. Undercook the eggs slightly, as they will be going under the broiler.

Divide the egg between the nachos, and sprinkle a last bit of cheese on top.

Place under the broiler just long enough to melt the cheese.








Serve immediately. Do not forget to put the very hot plate on top of another cold one! I added some chopped avocado, tossed with the juice from half a lime, and passed salsa at the table. Dig in and enjoy!

• Firstly, store bought tortilla chips can be used....I would have used them, but as I mentioned I did not want to go to the store just for that. That being said, these are a good substitute; the cumin adds a nice flavour, and they are quick and easy to make.
• These being breakfast nachos, breakfast sausage would be ideal. You can cook them whole and then chop them up, or you can remove them from the skin and crumble the meat as it cooks. You could also use any other favourite sausage.
• If you have olives, or jalapenos, throw some of those into the layers.
• I think that softly poached eggs would also work well; you would have the runny yolk to dip your chips into. The consensus when I made this was for scrambled eggs. I cooked two eggs per person.
• Sprinkle the finished nachos with some fresh chopped tomato and cilantro.
• This works nicely as a brunch item as the chips and sausage mixture can be made the day ahead. Assemble, heat and then add the eggs and eat!