Dairy Free Nachos, a recipe by Jessica Cox.

Healthy nachos? Who'da thought! I tell you folks, where there's a will there's a way - we are determined to find a healthy alternative to every damn un-healthy recipe you know (we'll be stopping short at the 'deep frieds' but that goes without saying I 'spose).

Today on the blog we get a little help from the very clever Nutritionist Jessica Cox, whose wise words we shared yesterday. Jessica's beautifully colourful creation will be like music to your dairy/gluten free ears as you sing and dance your way to better health with gorgeously nourishing 'treats' along your way. I'm looking forward to seeing your recreations already. 

Now go whip out that table cloth (butcher's paper might be a safer bet), slip into a bib and be thankful Queen Liz isn't coming for dinner. 

For the mince:
300gm organic lamb mince
1/2 white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon celery seeds
5-6 button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/2 red capsicum, diced
1 can organic red kidney beans (washed)
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
3 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons sumac
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 anchovy, mashed
1 small red chilli, seeds removed and finely sliced

For the guacamole:
1 large avocado, mashed
juice 1/4 lemon
1/4 tomato, diced finely
1 heaped tablespoon coriander leaves, finely sliced
sea salt and pepper

To serve:
organic, stone ground corn chips
hummus
fresh coriander leaves

In a large, heavy based saucepan heat a good splash of olive oil to a medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook through till the onions are transparent and the mushrooms start to go a golden brown. Add the mince and the garlic along with the chilli, anchovy and celery seeds. Stir well and let the mince cook through. Continue cooking the mince like this for a good 10 minutes. You want to develop some browned edges to the meat and get rid of the liquids (this helps develop the flavours).

Now add the capsicum along with the tomato paste, sumac, thyme and oregano. Stir through and let this cook through until all the liquid has evaporated again and the mince is browning further. Season with salt and pepper.

Next add the kidney beans. Mix through, again allowing the liquid to be taken up then turn down to a low heat. Cover saucepan with its lid and allow to sit and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes.

While the mince and beans are cooking, make your guacamole. Simply mash the avocado and stir through the lemon juice, tomato, coriander and salt and pepper. Set aside.

To serve. Place a handful of organic corn chips on each plate. Top the corn chips with mince and beans mixture, then a good spoonful each of guacomole and hummus. Finish with a liberally sprinkling of coriander. 

Tips from Jess:

• For an alternative to corn chips, slice some sweet potato into thin rounds and bake. A lovely change to a corn chip base and adds some more vegetables to the dish.
• To make this dish vegetarian/vegan friendly, simply omit the mince and anchovy and use a can of cannellini beans or some tempeh.
• If you are dairy tolerant, these nachos would be lovely with some grated pecorino or some crumbled feta. Remember to not go overboard with the cheese. There is a lot of flavour already and the clumps of melted cheese are not what this dish is about. ;-)
• Kidney beans are actually a common reactive legume. In place of kidney beans you could use adzuki beans or black beans.

So there we have it, unhealthy nachos made nutritious. Are there any other dishes that you would like us to make healthy? I know a gluten free lasagne is on the agenda. Let us know in the comments below!