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Nachos for Dinner. Yeah. They totally had me at hello with this title. This is a really fun book! Nachos running the full circuit from traditional to highly imaginative. He has really thought of everything. Everything we tried was delicious and the names he made up had us cracking up. Soupchos, anyone??

Got a recipe for you to try! Plantain nachos with carnitas and black beans. Outstanding! Super flavorful pork over plantain chips with cheddar, black beans, Chihuahua cheese, lime crema, habanana sauce, and avocado. It was a meat and plant fest! Oh, that habanana sauce! Bananas, a ton of habaneros, with onions, cilantro, and garlic. It looks scary hot, but it’s a wonderfully flavorful sweet heat. We love this sauce. Love. I think you will, too! The book comes out this Tuesday! If you grab the book, be sure to make the Buffalo chicken nachos next!

Excerpted from Nachos for Dinner: Surprising Sheet Pan Meals the Whole Family Will Love! by Dan Whalen (Workman Publishing). Copyright © 2021. Photographs by Penny De Los Santos.

Plantain Nachos with Carnitas and Black Beans

Makes 4 servings for dinner, or 8 as an appetizer

Takes about 15 minutes

Fried plantains really give these nachos a unique yet familiar flavor. These are some of the heartiest and most filling nachos I have had. A store near me sells sturdy plantain strips that are nice and long, making them perfect vehicles for nacho toppings. (The round kind are generally too small to hold all the ingredients, resulting in an unbalanced bite.) If you can’t find long plantain strips at a store near you, I suggest looking online.

1 bag (12 ounces) plantain strips (about 80 strips)
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups carnitas (preferably homemade; see page 50)
1 cup cooked black beans (canned or homemade; see page 38)
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Chihuahua cheese
1/2 cup Lime Crema (page 35)
1/4 cup Habanana Sauce (page 21)
1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced
1 lime, quartered and sliced into small wedges

1 Preheat the broiler to low with a rack about 4 inches from the heat.

2 Arrange the plaintain chips evenly on a sheet pan, overlapping them as little as possible.

3 Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on the chips, distributing it evenly. Next add the carnitas, then the beans, and top with the Chihuahua cheese.

4 Broil until the cheese has melted and the chips are starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. (Watch carefully to make sure they don’t burn.) Remove from the oven.

5 Drizzle the crema and hot sauce on the nachos and top with the avocado and lime wedges. Serve hot.

HABANANA SAUCE

NOTE: This may go without saying, but you’ll want to be really careful when handling the habaneros (or any spicy pepper, for that matter). The oils can get on your ﬁngers—and then into your eyes or anywhere else you happen to touch. Some people like to wear gloves when handling these. I don’t (not because I’m trying to be tough, but because I really don’t like gloves!), but I do wash my hands really well with soap and warm water after touching or cutting habaneros or other hot peppers.

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth but textured, pausing to scrape down the bowl as needed. Use immediately or pour into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

2 ripe bananas (the peels should be yellow with spots of black), peeled
20 habaneros, stemmed, half of the seeds removed (see Note)
¼ small yellow onion, peeled and diced
10 sprigs fresh cilantro (with stems)
1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Lime Crema

Slightly tangier and flowier than regular sour cream.

1 cup sour cream
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of kosher salt

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Use a funnel to pour the mixture into a squeeze bottle. The crema will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

CARNITAS

MAKES 2 POUNDS (ENOUGH FOR 2 TO 3 BATCHES OF NACHOS)

Takes about 3 hours (mostly passive time)

Juice of 2 limes
Juice of 1 orange
1 small yellow onion, peeled and quartered
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried oregano flakes
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder, cut into 3-inch pieces (see Note)

Now, let me tell you about the recipes we tried…

Cubano nachos. These are so fun! Quick skilleted pork with citrus, garlic , and spices, with ham, swiss, pickles, and a drizzle of yellow mustard.

French onion soupchos. These sound crazy, but they’re wonderful! There’s 4 onions in that pan for 4 people! If you like caramelized onions, you’ll be in heaven. He dresses them in thyme and melty Gruyere and gives little crouton crunches on top.

Buffalo chicken nachos. Buffalo chicken, carrots, celery, cheddar, blue cheese, and herby crema (ranch). We adored these. I actually doubled the vegetables. So good!

Plantain nachos with carnitas and black beans. Outstanding! Super flavorful pork over plantain chips with cheddar, black beans, cheese, lime crema, habanana sauce, and avocado. It was a meat and plant fest!

Pretzel bratchos. Okay, it felt weird to have to mustard in sight on this one. Pretzels, that nacho cheese sauce, bratwurst, and sauerkraut. We’ll do half the pretzels and twice the brats next time for a higher brat to pretzel ratio. Wurst math.

Carnitas. Pork, citrus, onions, garlic, and fragrant spices. I usually make carnitas in the slow cooker. His is just 2 ½ hours in the oven, with no pre-marinating time. Nice.

Basic black beans. He does these two ways: with dried and with canned, so you can go with your preference. They’re very nice, like a black bean soup without the broth.

Nacho cheese sauce. Easy peasy and delicious. It’s really rich with an evaporated milk base. Adapted from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt over at Serious Eats.

Habanana sauce. Bananas, a ton of habaneros, with onions, cilantro, and garlic. It looks scary hot, but it’s a wonderfully flavorful sweet heat. We love this sauce.