The day of the nacho – South African-style

TODAY, October 21, is the International Day of the Nacho. Nachos – those Mexican-style, flavoursome, crunchy corn chips, covered in cheese and sprinkled with chillies or a topping of your choice – have become popular all over the world. But legend has it that they originated in Mexico, in the city of Piedras Negras, and the story is interesting.

According to the legend, Nachos came about at the spur of the moment when a restaurant cook, Ignacio Anaya, had to make food in a hurry after the restaurant, the Old Victory Club, had mostly run out of food at the end of a busy day. A group of military wives from the US were hungry after a shopping trip and found all the other restaurants in the area closed so stopped in at the Old Victory Club. Ignacio came up with the idea of frying tortilla chips and sprinkling them with sliced jalapeno chillies and grated cheddar cheese, then put them under the grill for a few minutes. They were so appreciated that they spread, taking on his name – ‘nacho’ – which is short for Ignacio.

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In celebration of the day, you could make your own nachos by cutting tortillas (those soft wrap-like rounds), coating them with oil, spicing them with salt and other spices and baking them in the oven. Or you could take the easier, faster route and buy nacho chips from the grocery store and just add toppings and chillies and place them under the grill for a few minutes.

Caxton local media sub-editor Kathy Bosman decided to try out nachos with a traditional South African slant – well, she made them for her kids as she can’t eat cheese. First up, Nachos del Dry Wors or Biltong:

Nachos del Dry Wors/Biltong

1 large packet nachos – I used the Mexicorn ones from Checkers

About 1/3 cup dry wors or biltong sliced
About 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (or to taste)

1. Lightly grease a large baking tray with olive oil/other vegetable oil.
2. Spread the nachos out on the tray so they preferably don’t overlap too much.
3. Scatter the dry wors over the chips.
4. Sprinkle with grated cheese
5. Place in a low to medium-heat oven for about 5 minutes. Watch that the cheese and chips don’t burn.
6. Serve with salsa and guacamole if you like, or even chakalala.

Here are some more traditional South African adaptations to the typical Mexican nachos meal:

1. Instead of wors, you can use braai meat/sausage chopped up finely and grill cheese on top.
2. You can add chakalala onto the nachos and grill cheese on top.
3. You can add pap and tomato gravy onto the nachos and grill them with cheese on top.
4. If you’re a Bobotie fan, you could crumble up the sweetish minced beef from your Bobotie dish and grill that with cheese.
5. If you’re a Durban curry fan, you can add your favourite curried beans or chicken strips and grill cheese on top of that.

Enjoy International Day of the Nacho South African-style. And send us your recipes or photos if you tried any of these ideas.

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