Intro
Anything goes with summer cooking. Well, let’s be honest anything goes with anytime cooking but in the summertime it’s easier to get away with simple, quick cooking because the ingredients need so little fussing. In fact the problem lies in the over fussing.
This is the sort of recipe that highlights the ease of summer by using some of its finest ingredients in a recipe that are like nachos and totally not. I like to play around with the whole nacho concept while my kids roll their eyes when they see their cheese chips covered in radish slices and pickled red onions. To them nachos are chips and melted cheese but until they start cooking dinner they get frilly cilantro, cucumber and chickpeas on their nachos.
Even I, the nacho impurest, am not sure I can call these nachos for their lack of an abundance of cheese. Perhaps it’s more like a dip that only requires one platter. Or, as my friend Sam just pointed out it’s almost reminiscent of the Middle Eastern dish, Fattoush. In lieu of pita we have delicious hearty and seedy Way Better Chips that while more nutritious than others satisfy that crisp, salty indulgence that we so love in a chip with a deeper punch of flavor as they use the best possible ingredients. Regardless of how we categorize them it’s a simple dish that I would call dinner or better yet serve to a crowd while we’re sipping on something cold and waiting for the grill to warm up.
If you’re one to plan ahead you can easily mix up the chickpeas a few days prior to enjoying but even without preplanning this entire recipe could be made in under ten minutes. Time me.
Use this recipe as a guide and add to it or take away however you see fit. If you like more spice throw in a bit more of the chile paste or stir in dry chile powder if you don’t have paste on hand. Perhaps your family is a bigger fan of piquant olives than mine? Then toss those on top too. And if cilantro isn’t a favorite herb (I do know this one tends to be rather divisive) than I’d use a mix of basil, parsley, mint, chives and even dill. The point here is that it is highly adaptable and such a great starting point for a no-fuss summer favorite.
*This is post is proudly sponsored by Way Better Snacks who strives to make great tasting snacks that we can feel better about eating and feeding to our friends and family. Their secret is in the sprouting which not only boosts the flavor but makes their snacks better for us too. Find out more about their process and check out all the delicious flavors at gowaybetter.com
Middle Eastern “Nachos” with Spiced Chickpeas
Serves 4 to 6
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
1/2 tablespoon chile paste (Sambal Oelek is what I use)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt
2 5.5 ounce bags of Way Better Snacks Chips (Blue Corn and Sweet Chili make a fine pair)
1/2 cucumber, roughly chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup cilantro (a little mint is lovely in there too)
1/2 cup crumbled feta
In a bowl combine the chickpeas, yogurt, chile paste, cumin, coriander, and a pinch of salt. Stir it all together then taste and adjust the seasonings as you see fit.
Spread the chips onto a platter and top with the chickpea mixture. Sprinkle on the cucumbers, tomatoes, cilantro, and feta cheese. Serve right away.
The chickpeas take the place of black or refried beans–why not? I recently introduced my friends to nachos–we are in a rural part of France with no Mexican restaurants around–and they were a big hit. This would be a nice cool alternative in the same spirit.
We are planning a family fish fry with the fish hubby got while on vacation. This will be such a great snack with nutritious benefits. Thank you for sharing. I’m pinning to make this later.
I need to up my nacho game! Whether or not these are proper nachos, they look fantastic. I can’t wait to make this the next time it’s nacho night.
HA! Thom is a straight up nacho purist but I guarantee he’d approve of these nachos.. even if they are lacking copious amounts of melted cheese. We love love LOVE Way Better Snacks and I don’t know why I never thought to use their chips as a base for nachos but that’s about to change. Will keep you posted on what my traditionalist husband thinks of these “nachos”. 😉 HUGS.
I hope he LOVES them. The nacho cheese Way Better Chips are ahhhhhmazing!
My girl friend and I tried it over the weekend. We had guests and it is currently really hot so we wanted something light and fast. It was so delicious and our guests loved it. Thanks for sharing:-)
Yay! That makes me so happy. Thanks for coming back here and telling me about it.
These look amazing and I’m glad to hear a few other people have tried them with success. While I don’t think I can get those exact snack chips I think the ideas in this recipe will help me make something very similar soon.
This looks delicious.
Fattoush just got a supermodel makeover!
Yes! It’s ready for the catwalk.