But I Love Nachos: Legit Fusion Food That You Can Feel Good About

So I'm pretty much a sucker for nachos, or any other food smothered in cheese for that matter. While nachos shouldn't be a staple dish in anyone's diet, I'm always delighted by the layering textures you get when you bite into nachos...so I tried to replicate that with inspiration from my fav cuisine of all time, Mediterranean! Plus, I LOVE ME SOME FETA CHEESE!

I also, kind of love when chips in my nachos get a little soggy...so how do I get my healthy "med" chips (as I so affectionately have shortened the name) a little, soggy without the cheesy goodness?

Hummus, is the answer...to everything. I'm just kidding, but hummus will certainly act as a creamy, filling, "soggy-ing", agent as a replacement for nacho cheese.

What's even better is that I made my own. homemade "hummus" of sorts with sweet potatoes and some Asian influences (ginger and soy sauce!)

This dish is TRI-FUSION (Mexican themed, Mediterranean and Asian - inspired) Hmm...I feel like I should patent this dish, or get some serious world record cred? Maybe I'm being overly ambitious...

In any case, the hummus was so simple and easy to make! Extremely filling (as sweet potatoes are often used as an excellent substitute in veg dishes!). And on top of it all, I added half of a chicken breast! I thought I'd never say this but, a little nacho goes a long way.

Got real crafty and used some near-expiring lavash bread (pita works great too!) and made some baked, lavash chips. Clearly, a lot of TLC went into this dish.

Mediterranean Nachos with Homemade Sweet Potato Hummus

Adapted from Keepin' It Kind and Kid Cultivation 

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of lavash bread, cut into small squares ( or a few pieces of pita, depending on how hungry you are!)
• 1/2 of an english cucumber, diced
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Sweet Potato Hummus:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 Tbs tahini
• 1 Tbs minced ginger (or ginger paste)
• 3 tsps soy sauce
• 1-2 tsps Sriracha

Directions for Hummus:
1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into large chunks. In a pot of water, bring potatoes to a boil and then simmer for about 15-20 minutes until slightly tender. Save potato water to help combine hummus later.
2. Drain and let them cool slightly.

So I improvised here because I ran out of soy sauce! Worked like a charm.

3. In a food processor, add sweet potatoes, ginger, tahini, soy sauce and Sriracha. Pulse until smooth and creamy. If slightly chunky, add in a teaspoon of reserved water from potatoes to hummus. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Directions for Nachos:
1. Cut lavash into squares and place on a cookie sheet, spray with Pam.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place lavash in oven for aout 10 minutes or until slightly browned and crispy.
3. In the meantime, prepare "fattoush salad"... as this is pretty much what this salad is! Slice cucumber in half, then in half again so that you have cucumber quarters. Cut into chunks and place into tupperware.
4. Cut grape tomatoes in half and add to cucumbers. Slice kalamata olives and add drained and cut artichoke hearts to salad.
5. Toss with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, lots of pepper and 1/2 tsp of dried basil.

6. Store this in the fridge until you are ready to use it! If you don't add the feta at this stage, this salad will keep for 2 days in the fridge.
8. Once lavash chips are don, plate them and spread sweet potato hummus with a fork. Top with salad and crumbled feta. (Note: I added some sliced chicken breast that I had on hand for added protein!)

9. Keep remaining lavash chips in an airtight container for about 5 days as well.

The Mediterranean, It Was In Your Oven The Whole Time

I'm sure you've heard of a staycation? Well, consider this meal a serious, breath of fresh air in terms of your sub par, bland and overused, chicken breast meal variations. Oh and did I mention that you can literally throw this meal together in one dish! Insanely easy clean up. 

Light, refreshing, delicious to the very last bite, this Mediterranean-inspired chicken dish is a meal sure to satisfy foodies with complex flavor palates, but also, easy and impressive for a date night at home, and perfect for any working gal/guy whose not too keen in prepping before meals. 

So this is basically the PERFECT recipe, ever. 

Four ingredients and 30-40 minutes later, you taste buds will be in R & R mode.

My muse for this dish was a recipe I found on Foodgawker for a Mediterranean bruschetta...which sounded amazing, but seriously, how often do I host a get together where I need appetizers? Holidays are long gone and with life ramping up to it's "normal" hyperactive pace, a one pan meal, with less than five ingredients is always ideal. 

I was intrigued and delighted by the acidity in this dish as well as the use of goat cheese (duh!), and instead of spreading this lovely concoction on a hunk of hearty bread, I decided to make this into a full blown meal by adding some chicken breast and eliminating the bread all together. Served with a side of couscous (to soak up all the juices from the cooked artichokes!), but the starch is totally optional.

Mediterranean Chicken with Israeli Couscous

Kneading Sass original 

Ingredients:  

• 6 pieces of thinly-cut chicken breasts, or 10-12 breast tenders
• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
• half a jar of pitted kalamata olives, sliced in halves (preferably NOT in oil, but in its own brine)
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 4 oz. crumbed goat cheese 
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• Olive oil
• Pepper and garlic powder to taste

For Israeli Couscous (optional): 

• 1 package of Israeli couscous, cooked to package instructions (found this at TJ's!)
• 1 3/4 cups of chicken stock (replacing water in couscous)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 2-3 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 white onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup white mushroom, sliced)
• 1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
• Pepper to taste
• Olive oil

Directions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large casserole dish (roughly 9 X 13 sized) places your chicken breasts or tenders in an even layer. Season pepper and garlic powder on both sides. Drizzle about 1 tsp of olive oil on top of chicken. 
2. Right into the casserole dish (awesome right!?), add drained artichokes that have been coarsely chopped. Make sure to layer evenly over chicken. 

     4.  Add layer of sliced (in half), kalamata olives. Note: olives in oil might make this dish a little too oily, so it's safer to use olives submerged in their own brine. If you do, accidentally (like me!), buy olives in oil, no need to drizzle olive oil on your chicken.

     5.  Add even layer of cherry tomato halves.

     6. Add Italian seasoning and oregano spice to crumbled goat cheese. Then even layer goat cheese atop artichoke, olive and tomato layers. 

       7.  Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked through and most of the liquid has been absorbed. 

       8.  For the last 3-5 minutes I changed the temperature to broil, just to brown the goat cheese topping and evaporate some of the liquid.

       9.  Serve immediately with a salad or starch (like couscous or orzo!) This dish serves 6!

For Couscous:

1. Cook Israeli couscous to package instructions in saucepan. I substituted water with chicken broth for added flavor.
2. While couscous is cooking. Saute onions, red pepper and mushrooms with a bit of olive oil on medium low heat until the are soft and translucent. Set aside. 
3. Toast pine nuts on a dry pan (no oil), on medium heat until they brown just a little and are fragrant (about 3-4 minutes). 
4. Chop basil and set aside. 
5. Once couscous is cooked, remove from heat and add sauteed vegetables, pine nuts and basil right into the saucepan. 
6. Here's where I'd usually add the raisins, but I didn't have any on hand this time so I omitted it! But they are, seriously, delicious and plump up nicely in the warm couscous.
7. Add a liberal amount of pepper and mix well. 
8. Serve immediately!