Chorizo & sustainable pink shrimp sheet pan nachos

By Chef Sebastian Carosi

 

Growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, there were certain ethnic foods that found their way onto every American family’s dinner table. For some, that meant the Tex-Mex classic nachos, with fresh garden-grown tomato salsa and a movie. Of all the shared foods of that era, nothing has risen to party food status as Ignacio Anaya Garcia’s nachos. Qué no el nacho! 

For those that do not know, El Nacho (Ignacio’s nickname) was a Mexican maître d' and restaurateur who, in 1943 in Piedras Negras, Coahuila at Club Victoria, created the modern-day nachos. Remember now, we are talking about the history of one of the world’s all-time favourite stoner snack.  These days, toppings run the gambit and are always delicious as long as your tortilla chips don’t get soggy. Mushy nachos can fuck up a perfectly good relationship. 

For those who have followed my culinary career, you know that I love classic, traditional, nostalgic ethnic foods that have had their ingredients uplifted, but not completely reconceived. For this nachos recipe, I’m not reinventing the wheel. I’m just making the wheel hug the road a little better. I have added slightly spicy chorizo sausage and the tiny sustainably harvested local pink shrimp from the Oregon coast. And of course, fresh young cannabis leaves to uplift today’s version of Nacho’s historic creation. 

Let’s talk about some of the other ingredients starting with the shrimp. Revered for their distinct sweet flavour, these succulent beauties are also sustainably harvested. Combining these delicious little shrimps with the smoky heat of the chorizo is a marriage made in heaven. Back in the day, a typical plate of nachos was melted cheddar cheese and sliced jalapeno peppers on top of crispy fried tortilla chips. Today, people unabashedly load them up! I usually opt for a run through the garden with pico de gallo, fresh young cannabis leaves, green onions, cilantro, avocado, jalapenos, and queso fresco crumbles. Enjoy your nachos with your personal favourite toppings.

 

  

 

 

Chorizo & sustainable pink shrimp sheet pan nachos

Prep time: 30-45 minutes

Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Yield: serves 4-6 

Total THC/CBD: depends on the potency of the products used

Status: delicious, medicated munchies

From the cannabis pantry: cannabis-infused hot sauce, cannabis-infused rice wine vinegar, cannabis-infused olive oil

Chef’s strain recommendation: 9lb hammer

 

 

Equipment 

18”x13” sheet pan, chef’s knife, cutting board, 2 small sauté pans, slotted spoon, 4-6 hungry pot heads

 

 

Ingredients

1 bag of your favourite fried tortilla chips 

½ cup fresh young cannabis leaves (torn into pieces)

6 oz cooked Mexican chorizo or vegan chorizo sausage (drain and reserve fat to cook shrimp in)

4 oz cooked tiny Oregon pink shrimp (cooked in reserved chorizo fat)

1 cup shredded Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup medicated pico de gallo (recipe below)

½ cup green onions (chopped)

¼ cup cilantro (rough chopped)

½ cup ripe avocado (small cubed)

½ cup queso fresco crumbles 

1 tbsp fresh green and red jalapeno (rings, thin sliced)

½ tsp ground cumin

Kosher salt and pepper (to taste)

6 fresh lime wedges

2 oz of cannabis-infused hot sauce (made in the mb2e)

 

 

Pico de gallo

2 cups tomatoes (small diced)

1 cup Walla Walla sweet onion (small diced)

2 tbsp jalapeno (seeded, fine diced)

½ cup fresh cilantro (rough chopped)

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

½ to 1 tsp of Jacobsen sea salt

2-3 grinds of fresh black pepper

2-3 pinches ground cumin

1 tbsp cannabis-infused rice wine vinegar (made in the mb2e)

2 tbsp cannabis-infused olive oil (made in the mb2e)

 

 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°. In a sauté pan, cook the chorizo until done and crumbled, strain and reserve fat. Set both aside. Cook shrimp in the reserved chorizo fat, drain and set aside. (Make sure you drain the shrimp and chorizo well after cooking.) Dump your chips on a baking sheet and spread out evenly. Sprinkle the shredded sharp cheddar over the chips. Put the nachos in the oven and bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted, and then remove from oven. Sprinkle with chorizo, shrimp, ground cumin, and salt and pepper. Bake an additional 10 minutes and remove from oven. Distribute the remaining ingredients—pico de gallo, cilantro, avocado, queso fresco, jalapenos, green onions and lime wedges—evenly over the nachos. Disperse as much cannabis hot sauce over the top of the nachos as you would like and serve. Enjoy like a true stoner!  

 

For the pico de gallo, in a medium stainless mixing bowl combine all the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the spiciness and fresh cilantro to taste, then refrigerate from 30 minutes to an hour. Best if eaten within 12 hours.

 

 

To learn more about Chef Sebastian Carosi and his approach to cannabis cookery read our exclusive interview, Eat your damn greens! Chef Sebastain talks wildcrafting, cannabis cookery and his respect for the movement’s deep roots. Chef Sebastian generously shared this recipe with Heads Lifestyle. Now get in the kitchen and whip up something delicious! 

 

   

Equipment + product source: 

www.magicalbutter.com (mb2e botanical extractor)

www.jacobsensalt.com (Oregon sea salt)

 

 

Photos: Chef Sebastian Carosi and Carla Asquith

More about Chef Sebastian Carosi and his projects here

Follow on Instagram at: @chef_sebatian_carosi