It’s late fall, and over here in the mountains ski season is just about to start. This has me thinking about hearty make-ahead breakfasts, snacks that fit nicely into pockets and warming dinners, but mostly it has me thinking about my favourite meal of day – Après Ski. Served in the late afternoon after a day of skiing (Après Ski literally means “After Ski” in French), it is a meal of indulgent, savoury and satisfying foods that backfill all the calories spent on the mountain. Think fondue, charcuterie boards, poutine, mac and cheese and French onion soup (basically, all things cheesy, with a drink on the side, please). Nachos are another delicious cheesy option that appear on many restaurant menus that cater to the Après scene. When I’m home for Après though, I like to mix things up with this delicious riff on classic Tex-Mex nachos. These Homemade Fall Nachos feature blue corn chips, roasted vegetables, juicy sausage and smoked cheddar cheese. While it may be a surprising combination for nachos, it is phenomenally delicious, warming and so satisfying. I’m looking forward to the skiing, but I’m mostly looking forward to settling in fireside with a hot tray of these nachos and a glass of wine. People keep gifting me with sweatshirts that read ” Here for the Après” and “Après Al Day” and I can’t quite figure out why. Oh, wait. Yes, I can.
What goes in it?
Italian Sausage
Italian sausage is full of juicy flavour, so you only need 3 links for this recipe. Chose mild sausage for wide appeal, or go for the hot variety if everyone loves the spicy heat – both are delicious. To remove the meat from the casings, cut the tip off one end of the uncooked sausage. Squeeze the meat out of the casing and break it up with a wooden spoon while it cooks. Break the sausage into small pieces (almost like a cooked ground beef texture) so you can sprinkle it evenly over every chip!
Butternut squash
This recipe calls for 400 gr/142 oz (about 2 1/2 cups) of peeled and cubed butternut squash. It can be hard to judge how big of a squash to buy when you’re standing in the grocery store, so look for a squash that’s on the smaller side. I bought a smaller squash, and still needed just the neck portion for the nachos. (The bulb part of the squash was peeled, cut in wedges and roasted for dinner a few days later).
Mushrooms
Cremini mushrooms are baby portobello mushrooms and I find they have better flavour than standard white mushrooms. Cremini mushrooms come in different sizes though, depending on when in the growth cycle they’ve been picked. Cut them in half if they’re on the small side, cut them in quarters if they’re medium size and chop them in 8ths if they’re bigger. They’ll lose a ton of volume as they roast, so don’t worry if the pieces look a bit big when they’re raw.
Red Onion
Red onion becomes soft and silky when roasted, with a mild sweet flavour. Cut the onion in 1/2″ thick wedges for roasting. You can separate the layers of the wedges when you distribute the roasted onion over the corn chips, or you can keep them intact and fan them out for a pretty presentation.
Red Pepper Flakes
If you like spicy heat, add red pepper flakes to the vegetables before popping them into the oven to roast. The red pepper flakes, combined with hot Italian sauce, can make this nachos delightfully spicy. If chili heat is not your thing though, skip the red pepper flakes and opt for mild Italian sausage.
Blue Corn Chips
Tortilla chips made with blue corn have a delightful bluey-purpley-brownish colour that looks beautiful with the orange butternut squash and creamy white cheese. If they are not available in the chip aisle, look for them in the organic foods section of the grocery story or order them online.
They are purely for visual appeal though, so if you can’t find them, go ahead and use regular corn tortilla chips.
Smoked Cheddar
Smoked cheddar adds a bold smokey flavour and creamy, melty texture to these nachos. It should be available at the cheese counter of better grocery stores and at specialty cheese shops.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
These nachos shouldn’t be limited to just snowy ski days! They make a fun appetizer for Thanksgiving, a warming treat for fall days at the cottage and the perfect game day snack. Serve these nachos alongside bowls of soup for warming late fall or winter lunch.
My people believe that nachos ALWAYS need guacamole, so I usually serve these nachos with a simple side of mashed avocado mixed with a squeeze of lime and a good pinch of salt. If you have a favourite salsa, especially one that’s a bit on the sweeter side, go ahead and put that out for dipping too. But, the BEST accompaniment for these nachos is this: A bowl of sour cream (or Greek yogurt), drizzled with Heartbeat Jalapeño Hot Sauce. Made in small batches in Thunder Bay, Ontario, this preservative-free and gluten-free sauce is packed with roasted jalapeño flavour and just a hint of spice. If you haven’t tried it yet, look for it on grocery store shelves, or order it online.
What to serve it with
My people believe that nachos ALWAYS need guacamole, so I usually serve these nachos with a simple side of mashed avocado mixed with a squeeze of lime and a good pinch of salt. If you have a favourite salsa, especially one that’s a bit on the sweeter side, go ahead and put that out for dipping too. But, the BEST accompaniment for these nachos is this: A bowl of sour cream (or Greek yogurt), drizzled with Heartbeat Jalapeño Hot Sauce. Made in small batches in Thunder Bay, Ontario, this preservative-free and gluten-free sauce is packed with roasted jalapeño flavour and just a hint of spice. If you haven’t tried it yet, look for it on grocery store shelves, or order it online.
DRINK PAIRINGS
No one would argue that beer and nachos are meant for each other, and a brown ale with a bit of malty flavour is the one you want here. For wine, choose a Shiraz – the tobacco notes are charming with the smoked cheddar. The crispness of a not-too-sweet Hard Apple Cider would cut the richness of these nachos and compliment the cheddar and sausage.
Homemade Blue Corn Harvest Nachos
Ingredients
- 3 Italian sausages, mild or spicy according to preference (about 300gr /10.5 oz)
- 400 gr /14 oz butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1/2" dice (about 2 1/2 cups of diced squash)
- 227 gr /8 oz mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
- 1 medium red onion, cut in 1/2" thick wedges
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 350 gr bag of blue corn chips
- 400gr /14 oz Smoked Cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley for garnish (optional)
To serve:
- 1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- jalapeño hot sauce to taste, such as Heartbeat Hotsauce Jalapeño Sauce
- 1 cup guacamole and/or salsa (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Remove the sausage meat from the casing and crumble it into the hot pan. (There's enough fat in the sausage to prevent sticking and encourage browning, so no additional oil is needed.). Cook the sausage, stirring occasionally and breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until sausage is browned and cooked through. Remove the sausage meat from the pan with a slotted spoon to plate and set aside. (Make ahead: sausage can be cooked up to 2 days in advance and stored in a covered container in the fridge.)
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Arrange the butternut squash, mushrooms and red onion on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt (and red pepper flakes, if using), then toss it all together to coat the vegetables evenly. Spread the vegetables out in a single layer, then transfer to the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes, until vegetables are browned and tender. (Make ahead: vegetables can be roasted up to 2 days in advance, cooled and stored in a covered container in the fridge.)
- While the vegetables are roasting, spread the corn chips out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Top with 3/4 of the cheese, making sure every chip gets some cheese. Sprinkle the chips evenly with the sausage meet.
- Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350F. Use tongs or a spatula to transfer the hot vegetables onto the nachos, distributing evenly. Top with the remaining cheese, then transfer the nachos to the oven. Bake for 7-9 minutes, rotating the pan half way through, until cheese is melted and chips are evenly heated.
- While nachos are in the oven, place the sour cream in a dish and drizzle the top with jalapeño hot sauce. Remove nachos from the oven and sprinkle chopped parsley over top. Serve immediately with the dish of sour cream and guacamole and salsa, if desired.
RECIPE NOTES
- Bake don’t broil: Many nacho recipes will instruct you to heat the nachos under the broiler. If you’ve ever done that, you probably know that the broiler method results in over browned (maybe even burnt) nachos on the top, and unmelted cheese and cold toppings on the bottom. For even results, bake the nachos at 350F instead.
- Have these Homemade Harvest nachos ready in a flash by roasting the vegetables, cooking the sausage and grating the cheese ahead of time. Store the prepared ingredients in covered containers in the fridge, and just assemble the nachos when you get in the door from skiing or just before you plan to serve them. The vegetables and sausage will reheat in the oven while the cheese melts, and you’ll be just moments away from crisp, hot and cheesy nachos!
