“Taco” a look at this indulgent, healthier Saturday night fakeaway! (sorry, couldn’t resist).
For those of you not from Northern Ireland you may have a different idea of what a taco chip is but over here it’s a typical takeaway dish that uses fried white chips that get covered in mince, melted cheese and a special taco sauce. It’s a properly indulgent, Saturday night blowout kind of treat. I’ve only ever had it once or twice in my life and I’m not going to lie, it’s flipping delicious! However, I’ve never really liked red meat so would always pick around this bit and I’ve been craving one recently so I decided to make a healthier one. This is what I tend to do with my cravings, I’ll try to satisfy them with a healthier homemade version first, which works 9 times out of 10.
What’s even better is that this version contains 2/5 a day (the tomato puree actually counts as 1 as it’s so concentrated) and contains many more nutrients with none of the deep fried fat as it’s baked, you can also get some good omega 3 fats in there too by choosing an organic cheddar cheese.
As for the mayo and cheese, I feel no guilt with these ingredients as I use good quality versions and the rest of the dish is pretty lean therefore it actually needs the fat for flavour and moisture, otherwise you wouldn’t really want to eat it, but trust me, if you make this version, you WILL!
Healthier taco chip recipe (serves 1)
-approx 35g grated cheese
-125g turkey mince
-approx. 200g squash/sweet potato chips
-oil for frying
-optional: chopped chilli to top, salt & pepper to taste
Taco sauce
1 Tbspn quality mayo
1 Tbspn tomato puree
1 tspn smoked paprika + 1/8 tspn cayenne pepper/chilli powder
Directions
1-Preheat oven to 180C
2-Peel and chop the squash/sweet potato into chip shapes then rub in a little oil and bake for approx. 30-45mins (will differ depending on how thick you cut your chips & which veg you chose)*
3-Saute the turkey mince in some oil for about 8-10mins breaking up any large bits with a wooden spoon and remove from the heat once cooked then add in all the sauce ingredients and stir this through
4-Once the chips are done, plate them up then take the turkey mince mixture, place it on top and sprinkle over your cheese and chilli. If you want your cheese melted slightly just place your plate into the oven for 1-2mins or microwave for a few seconds and be careful taking it out again as it may be hot
*Note: You could also microwave the chips for 4-5mins then finish them in the oven until cooked to your liking
Then enjoy your healthier but still indulgent Saturday night fakeaway!
Time to tuck in!!
