Sophie Gray's quinoa chilli nachos

READY IN: 45 MINUTES / SERVES: 4

Photo: Tony Eyre

Ingredients

• 1/2 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 21/2 tsp Mexican Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 500g pumpkin, kumara or butternut, peeled and chopped into roughly 1cm pieces
• 3/4 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 425g can chilli beans in sauce (I use the ‘hot’ ones)

TO SERVE

• 300g bag of corn chips (I use spicy ones)
• 11/2 cups grated pizza cheese, or your preferred cheese (vegan if desired)
• 250g chopped tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted and salted (see tips)
• 1/2 cup sour cream, mixed with a squeeze of lime juice (optional)

Chunky Guacamole

• 1 avocado, halved and deseeded
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• handful of coriander, chopped
• a good squeeze of lime or lemon juice

Method

You could serve this chilli over rice or in a buddha bowl with toppings if you don’t want to do the cheesy corn-chips thing. Hard-core chilli eaters can ramp up the heat by adding more of the Mexican Seasoning or adding a scattering of sliced fresh chilli or dried chilli flakes before serving.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender.

Add the spices, then stir in the chopped tomatoes, pumpkin, quinoa and stock and bring to a simmer. Mix in the tomato paste and chilli beans in sauce, then cover and simmer gently, stirring frequently, until the pumpkin is tender, the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is plump.

If making the guacamole, mash the avocado in a bowl and mix with the remaining ingredients.

Preheat the grill. Arrange the corn chips on a shallow heatproof tray or individual plates, and top with quinoa chilli and a generous sprinkle of grated cheese. Grill until the cheese is melted.

Scatter with chopped tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds. Serve with sour cream and guacamole if desired.

TIPS: To toast pumpkin seeds, place in a pan with a drop of oil and fry over medium heat, turning once or twice, till golden.

You could roast the pumpkin in the oven while the quinoa cooks (without a lid) and stir it in at the end, or use leftover roast veg if you prefer the sweeter flavour produced by roasting.

Want more veg? Add chopped celery and capsicum to the onion and garlic at the start, and serve with a salad or slaw

Extracted from Destitute Gourmet by Sophie Gray, published by Random House NZ

Text © Sophie Gray, 2021. Photography © Todd Eyre, 2021