Seasoned Field Pea Nachos

I am excited to be discussing nachos in this weekend's So Many Cooks in the Kitchen show So Many Comfort Foods! - and we are now streaming not just to facebook but also YouTube and twitter. I have a draft of my section of the recipe document and will try to remember to link the whole document here once it is published. In it, I collected and named some references to "cheese" sauces that I have made in the past - bit.ly/veganCheeseSauce1, bit.ly/veganCheeseSauce2, bit.ly/veganCheeseSauce3, bit.ly/veganCheeseSauce4, and bit.ly/veganCheeseSauce5.

I had leftover field peas from yesterday (by the way, I updated my pressure cooking table, available for free download at at bit.ly/DilipPressureCookingNotes, to include field peas) and decided to try a new way of making nachos with seasoned field peas.

The basic approach was to put the cooked field peas in a pan along with chunks of bell pepper, celtuce, broccoli stem (small 1/4" or smaller pieces), and spices (cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt). I had intended to mix in some red onion at the end but forgot.

I also made a "cheese" sauce by blending 1/4 cup "raw" cashews, a small clove of garlic, between 1/8 and 1/4 cup water, 2T nutritional yeast, 1/2 t garlic powder, a small red bell pepper, 1 t lime juice, and a dash of salt (there was plenty leftover). I made nacho chips by taking tortillas, cutting them into triangles, and air frying them at 350°F and checking them after 3 minutes; they were almost done and another 30-45 seconds got them nicely browned (be careful as they can burn easily).

I served the chips, field peas, cheese sauce, and some salsa. On the side I had fresh tomato and broccoli. 

Results

We all loved the meal! Field peas by themselves can be bland but both yesterday and today we were quite pleased by the way I had prepared them. Nachos don't have to have black beans!

Ideas for the future

I should make nachos more often; made this way they are nutritive and tasty. I look forward to this weekend's show as my talented colleague Mark Cerkvenik is coming immediately after me and making "Pub Nachos"; his dishes always look great and I bet I'll have something to learn about new ways to make nachos.

Experimenting with Chinese Vegetables Sweet Conehead Cabbage and Celtuce (with Field Peas) (No Added Fat)