Moroccan Nachos
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 1(14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 4medium tomatoes, cored and quartered
- 1small yellow onion (about 6 ounces), peeled and quartered
- ½packed cup fresh cilantro
- 3tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 to 4teaspoons harissa, according to taste
- 2garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1tablespoon honey
- 2teaspoons ground cumin
- 1teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- 2ripe avocados
- 1tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 1teaspoon lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
- 1tablespoon lemon juice, plus more to taste
- ½teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
- 1pound ground beef or lamb (preferably 15- to 20-percent fat)
- 1small yellow onion, grated or finely chopped with its juices reserved (about 1 ¼ cups)
- ½packed cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- ½packed cup cilantro, finely chopped
- ½packed cup mint leaves, finely chopped
- 2heaped teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- ½heaped teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- Pinch of ground cayenne
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1(8-ounce) bag corn tortilla chips
- 9ounces grated Cheddar (about 2 cups)
- 1cup sour cream
- A handful of cilantro leaves
- Olive oil, to drizzle
For the Salsa
For the Guacamole
For the Kefta
For the Nachos
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the salsa: In a food processor or blender, combine the crushed tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lemon juice, harissa, garlic, honey, cumin and salt and pulse a few times until the ingredients are evenly blended. Cover and set aside until ready to serve or keep in the fridge for up to four days.
- Step 2
Make the guacamole: Mash the avocado flesh with a fork, then add the cilantro, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and stir together until well combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and lemon juice if necessary. Cover and keep in the fridge for up to 6 hours before using.
- Step 3
Prepare the kefta: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high. Add the beef, onion and the juices, parsley, cilantro, mint, sweet paprika, cumin, salt, black pepper and cayenne and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon until it is no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Cover and set aside until ready to serve or keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
- Step 4
Assemble the nachos: Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the tortillas on a sheet pan in a single layer. Top the tortillas with the kefta and a layer of Cheddar. Bake until the cheese has melted, about 10 minutes.
- Step 5
Remove the nachos from the oven and top with the guacamole, sour cream, about half of the salsa, cilantro leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately with the remaining salsa on the side.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Andrea Bell
This fusion dish reminds me of living in Morocco 50 years ago. As a native Californian I dearly missed tortillas---neither they or masa was anywhere to be found. The food of Morocco is divine---its fun to see it combined with Mexican.
Janet
Roasted eggplant and chickpeas? Should work well with these spices and herbs.
Anne
This was good. I made half a pan with tortilla chips and the other half with pita chips. I liked the pita version better ... it became its own dish rather than a wannabe. And I love guacamole and avocado with almost anything, but I found it superfluous to this dish. Lemony tzatziki was great with it.
T Jones
Three ideas: - leave off the beef/lamb completely - follow directions but use a meat substitute such as Beyond or Impossible - use the seasoning mix with chickpeas instead, might need a bit more oil, toss and heat in an oven for a bit before using them to make the nachos.
sharon
A good vegetarian substitute would be to use tofu crumbles. I use extra firm tofu, freeze it first, thaw it, slice it into 2 inch thick slabs, then press between tea towels to get out most of the liquid out. Once that is done, I use my hands to squeeze out even more liquid over the sink, then crumble it up into a bowl. Cook as is or add some seasoning. Works great.
Tom
A meatless alternative: try crumbles. They absorb flavors well and approximate ground meat.
veganized it!
I used black chickpeas in place of the meat. And made a cheese sauce with cashews and pepitas. It turned out great. Loved the mint
JHINBOCO
What a fun version of nachos! Loved the flavor of the Kefta, but there was more than enough for one recipe. The salsa was the best. Not too spicy & just the slightest sweetness from the honey. I’ve used this salsa recipe over and over. It’s good enough to can, so after a bountiful tomato season I’m going to try. I’m wondering if anyone has any ideas for how to adjust it so the ph is sufficient for canning? Add a teaspoon of white vinegar to each jar before processing in a hot water bath?
Sara
We wanted to try this recipe but did not have all the ingredients on hand. Our avocados were too firm, so we replaced the guacamole with a tahini sauce (1/3 cup tahini, 2 T. honey, juice of lemon, and a few roasted garlic cloves, stirred and thinned with a little water). We forgot to buy harissa so we used some ground chili to make the salsa. We replaced the tortilla chips with pita chips and the cheddar with feta. Delicious and easy. Great to nibble on with rose.
ED
Had so many left overs that we got a bonus round: Moroccan enchiladas
Karen L Davis
Our 2023 Super Bowl nachos. Fun. A little different. Used Moroccan Merguez (lamb) sausage in the kefta. Next time would cook it a bit less beforehand; it dried out some in the oven. Mint adds a nice touch. Used smoked paprika, as some had suggested. Liked it. Used the sauce-like Harissa rather than dried spice in the salsa. Worked well. Cheated and bought guac. I'll probably use more cheese next time. I got a tiny hint of being back in Morocco, the first place we visited post-Covid.
Keller
This was a hit. I only had mild Harissa on hand, so upped that to get the flavor, maybe 4 tablespoons plus a little hot sauce for heat and lime & lemon juice. Be aware this makes more salsa than you will need. I upped the guac with cumin, red onion, and garlic. But the lamb was the star here, cooked with the onion and herbs it smelled great. I had to drain a good bit of fat and finished it with some lemon juice. I would not recommend omitting the lamb nor a melt-able cheese like cheddar.
Mark
I made these with lamb and the results were delicious. I already had some jarred salsa in the fridge so I doctored that with the cumin, harissa, and a little bit of honey. It transformed the jarred salsa into something more special. As I was making the meat mixture, I added a little more harissa to add flavor to the lamb. I think it helped. Made the kitchen smell great. May become a staple for TV watching.
Strembrulie
Made these for dinner. Makes enough for 4 people when used for a meal. We lined the baking sheet with parchment paper and felt the extra salsa wasn’t necessary on the nachos. The salsa does taste very good alone and could be used for a lot of dishes. We contemplated if it would be better to bake without the chips and then put on chips as you eat so the chips don’t get soggy.
Anne
This was good. I made half a pan with tortilla chips and the other half with pita chips. I liked the pita version better ... it became its own dish rather than a wannabe. And I love guacamole and avocado with almost anything, but I found it superfluous to this dish. Lemony tzatziki was great with it.
Stacy S
Enjoyed this with a chick pea meat substitute. Mint was light so I’ll add more next time. The salsa recipe is delish. Be sure and give the harissa time to mellow. I jarred the extra salsa to take to a party.
Monique
I was skeptical about this but it was DELICIOUS. I used ground chicken because that's what I had on hand and the flavor was amazing. The salsa was just different enough to be familiar but interesting. This will definitely go into our regular rotation.
Cathy D
I wondered about the Harissa dry versus condiment. I used the condiment because I figured it would blend better. My dry mix has pepper seeds, not what I want to come across in salsa. Cooks taste was good, haven't assembled it yet.
Eric
How about Tempeh a great meat substitute.
Brenda
A nice alternative to classic nachos. I subbed crumbled goat cheese in place of cheddar. Would make again!
Aklonghorn2
Is the harissa the dry spice or sauce?
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