Chicken Nacho Pie with a Cheesy Jalapeño Crust

When my sisters and I were kids, we were pretty fussy with our food. Eating out was probably a nightmare for our parents. But one item on the menu that was always a safe go-to for all of us was nachos. One day we went to Miss Maud’s for a quick lunch at the shops, and discovered chicken nachos on their menu! Glory be! When the waitress arrived to take our orders, we went around the table, each gleefully ordering the nachos… and then it was Steph’s turn.

“Can I please have the nachos… without the Olé?”

Because on the menu, the nachos were described as coming “with a pinch of Olé” and Steph, not recognizing the word, assumed it was some weird exotic Mexican super ingredient that she and her plain kiddo tastebuds were having no part of!

Oh, how we laughed at her. It became one of those family stories that never goes away. It also became the inspiration for this cray-cray pie that I’ve made, so I guess it’s not all bad hey!?

This chicken nacho pie was borne of that last day before grocery shopping, when you have a mish-mash of ingredients in the fridge that you haven’t gotten around to using yet. That, and this family’s Great Love of All Things Mexican. Seriously, if we had to choose one cuisine to eat for eternity, we would all choose Mexican. Yep, even Jackson. Well, OK. Jackson might choose bananas but that is not a cuisine. Plus Chris is allergic. #twoagainstone #parenting #sorryjackson

The prototype version of this pie used puff pastry, which you can do in a pinch. It still tastes awesome. But if time is on your side, I would definitely recommend rolling up your sleeves and making the cheesy jalapeño shortcrust. It’s flaky, it’s spicy, and when you bake it, all these cheesy freckles appear out of nowhere, so it looks rustic as hell.

Do you see these freaking layers!?! I have dreams in which I dive into this pie with my mouth wide open and swim for my life.

I believe that even as a fussy kid, I would have eaten this because it legit tastes like chicken nachos – specifically the nachos in the middle of the bowl that you can’t grab with your fingers because they’ve been soaked to oblivion with all the gooey cheesy saucey goodness. Mmmm. I dig those nachos. But watch out for that Olé!

Chicken Nacho Pie with a Cheesy Jalapeño Crust

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Cheesy Jalapeño Crust
500g flour
250g butter
125g grated cheese
1 jalapeño chilli, roughly chopped
4-5 tbsp cold water
2tbsp milk

Pie Filling
1 chicken breast/2 chicken thigh fillets
1/2 red onion, diced
1 small zucchini, grated
1 small red capsicum, diced
100g button mushrooms, diced
1 corn cob, kernels removed
1tbs flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
150g salsa
15g taco seasoning
200g canned black beans
150g corn chips

Nacho Cheese Sauce
30g butter
2tbs flour
1.5 cups milk
1.5 cups grated cheese
2-3 shakes tabasco sauce (optional)

Sour cream, to serve (optional)

Method:

Cheesy Jalapeño Crust

1. Combine the flour, butter, cheese and jalapeño chilli in a food processer. Pulse until the mixture resembles crumbs.
2. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing, until the mixture begins to come together slightly. It should still be crumbly, but hold together if you squeeze it in your hand.
3. Tip dough onto a lightly floured surface, working it into 2 discs of equal size. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Pie

1. Preheat oven to 180°
2. Put chicken in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until cooked through. Add the onion, zucchini, capsicum, mushrooms and corn. Cook, stirring, until soft.
3. Add flour to pan and stir to coat the chicken and vegetables, cooking for about 1 minute. Add stock, salsa and taco seasoning. Stir to combine. Bring to the boil; simmer for 20 minutes until slightly thickened.
4. Meanwhile, take one pastry disc from the fridge and place on a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out flat until it is approx. 5mm thick. Carefully place in a deep 30cm pie dish, ensuring pastry goes all the way up the sides and rests on the outer rim of the dish. Using a sharp knife, cut away excess pastry. Using a toothpick, poke 4-5 holes in the bottom.
5. Blind bake pastry for 10 minutes, or until edges are beginning to brown slightly. Remove from oven, set aside.
6. Make nacho cheese sauce.
7. Spoon pie filling into the blind-baked pastry shell. Scatter corn chips evenly over the top. Cover with cheese sauce.
8. Remove the second pastry disc from the fridge and place on a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out flat until it is approx. 5mm thick. Carefully place over top of pie. Using a sharp knife, trim edges. Press edges down with a fork to seal. Brush evenly with 1-2 tbsp milk.
9. Place pie in oven for 30-40 minutes or until crust is crisp and golden.
10. Serve immediately with sour cream, if desired.

Nacho Cheese Sauce

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once butter is bubbling, sprinkle flour into the saucepan. Whisk to combine. Cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add milk to saucepan gradually, whisking continuously. Increase heat to medium and bring to the boil, still whisking. Once mixture thickens, remove from heat.
3. Add cheese to saucepan, stirring until melted and combined. Shake in tobasco sauce, if desired, and stir.

 

TIP: The pie filling only uses half a jar of salsa, half a pack of taco seasoning, etc. So that your ingredients don’t go to waste, double the filling recipe and freeze half for later!

Oh hey there, awkward hand…

Is all this talk of chicken nachos giving you a hankering, but you don’t have time to bake a pie from scratch? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with these crazy easy 10-minute chicken nachos.