Sweet Potato Chicken Nachos



Sweet Potato Chicken Nachos, with tons of crushed garlic adorning the top

This meal idea came to me on evening when I was looking for something that would be a good conduit for crushing raw garlic and getting some super charged vitamin nutrition. (Yes, it is really a blessing that my fiancé proposed to me before I adopted this particular health routine.)  At first I thought I had stumbled upon the next food holy grail, but after some internet research found that others had discovered it first. After I consoled my inner Christopher Columbus, I decided to just be thankful I had discovered such a delicious food at all and made myself another plate. This is definitely a recipe in progress, but it is still worth sharing.  It is easily expanded to feed more people.  I recently shared it with my house church family and it met rave reviews.  However, it is also a super easy and nutritious meal for one, you might want to cut the potato in half and save part, or make the whole dish and have tomorrows lunch already made.

Ingredients: (this recipe serves one very big hungry, or two 20-something ladies)

1 med. Sweet potato, washed
2 left over chicken thighs, or one 6-8oz chicken breast
1 tablespoon canned chipotle and adobo sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
cheese of preference, cheddar or mozzarella work well
cilantro and chopped green onion to taste
crushed garlic to taste (optional, but delicious!)
salt and pepper

Method:
Pre-nacho making you will want to secure some chicken. Now I have used chicken that I had previously cooked in several instances, and when I made this for my house church I made shredded chicken in my crock pot by layering the chicken in some brisket rub and letting it simmer for 8 hours while I was at work. Rotisserie chicken from the store would also be really good and super easy in this recipe. Just use chicken you like and cut it up in strips or bite sized pieces, and make sure it is hot when you put it on the potatoes. Those are my only suggestions. You have full chicken liberties.

Start by baking or microwaving one sweet potato until it is almost done, but not mushy.  My microwave does that at about 75% of the time I’d use to fully cook a potato in the microwave.  You can also bake them.  I have done both. Baking tends to crisp up the skin, which can make it difficult to slice.  The sweet potato happy place is to cook the potato until it is cooked through but still firm. I find that depending on the size of the potato this may or may be too much for your personal appetite so adjust to what you have and will eat.  Nice part is that this meal reheats well.



While the potatoes are cooking take one chipotle and slice up at least half, but more if you want it spicier.  If you don’t like your food too spicy then just scoop out the adobo sauce. Mix this in a bowl with the olive oil and at least one clove of crushed garlic.  Add in the herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper.  It will be almost a paste.

My Sweet Cowboy preparing sweet potato nachos for house church

When the potato is almost done pre-cooking, carefully cut it into slices that are about a quarter inch thick. Use a technique similar to slicing tomatoes for burgers.  Vertically pierce the skin with the tip of your knife and then cut down horizontally to that you don’t smash the potato.  This technique took my fiancé a little bit of time to master, so don’t feel bad if your first round of nachos are more like potato smashes, they will still taste awesome.  Once you have the potatoes sliced, liberally coat both sides with the chipotle mixture, and heat up your sauté pan. I love these in a cast iron skillet.



 Get your cheese and your herbs ready.  You can do either slices or shredded, so pick your cheese preference and prepare.  For two people, I prefer a quarter cup of loosely chopped cilantro and green onion, but I am a big herb fan, so adjust to your own taste.

Sweet potato nacho slices sizzling away in chipotle garlic olive oil

Once your skillet is hot, add your potatoes. There should be enough oil on them that you do not need to add any to the pan.  You want the temperature to be high enough that they brown, but not high enough that the raw garlic burns.  Medium on a gas stove is good for me, but keep an eye on it. When the bottoms are brown and crispy, turn them over (if using sliced cheese, add now for optimum meltage, if using shredded, wait until they are done.)  When they are browned on the other side, arrange them on your plate, add cheese if you haven’t already. Top with your chicken before adding your cilantro and green onions.  Optionally, if you are trying to ward off a cold, or vampires, crush additional garlic over the top.  (The key really is to crush it, btw.)  I seriously recommend this with a side of black bean and mango salsa.