Recipe: Healthier Nachos platter

MANILA, Philippines — One of the easiest and most convenient appetizers to order when in a Tex Mex restaurant or American diner is the Nacho platter. It comes in many different names, depending on what add-on ingredients it has, but the platter is usually composed of crisp and crunchy Nacho chips, a ground meat sauce, chopped chilies, topped with melted cheese sauce and tomato salsa.

It is a loaded platter to be shared by family and friends over catch-up conversations or as a delightful appetizer to keep everyone happy while waiting for the main meals.

You can make it at home — and in a healthier version, too, that uses tofu and beans in place of the usual ground meat.

Here’s the recipe of Chili-Tofu Bean Nachos from a previous “Wellnessize” session of Nestlé.

Chili-Tofu Bean Nachos

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups tofu, mashed

2 tbsps. vegetable oil

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 pc. medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup minced red bell pepper

1/4 cup minced green bell pepper

1/2 cup diced canned tomatoes with juice

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce

1 sachet Maggi Magic Sarap

2 pcs. bay leaf

1 tbsp. Maggi Savor Classic

Salt and sugar to taste

1/4 cup water

1 cup canned red beans

Tortilla shells

1 cup Nestlé All-Purpose Cream, soured with 1 tbsp. calamansi juice

1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese

PROCEDURE:

1. Put tofu inside the microwave oven and heat for 2 minutes to squeeze out water. Drain the tofu and set aside.

2. Heat vegetable oil in pan. Add garlic, onion and tofu. Stir-fry until the tofu is completely dry.

3. Add bell peppers, diced tomatoes and sweet chili sauce. Season with Maggi Magic Sarap, bay leaf, Maggi Savor Classic, sugar and salt to taste.

4. Pour in water and add red beans. Cook for a minute. Remove from heat.

5. Mix the red beans into the tofu dip. Scoop onto a plate. Spoon sour cream on top and sprinkle with grated cheese. Serve with tortilla shells or chips.

RELATED: Recipe: Easy-to-make Spring Rolls for Chinese New Year