Seafood Nachos with Shrimp and Chorizo

Hello and welcome to Djalali Cooks. Happy Labor Day! It feels like only a few weeks ago when I wrote the unofficial start of summer was here on Memorial Day. If your summer is winding down, I hope you had a wonderful season; taking advantage of warm weather and sunny days. If your summer is just kicking off (hello, San Francisco!), make hay while the sun shines and get out there to enjoy it! Today’s recipe is my take on a wonderful appetizer/main we had on our last evening in Tybee. Seafood Nachos at the North Beach Bar and Grill. In their recipe the seafood was crawfish tails, in ours though, we have shrimp. So let’s get right to it!

One of the things that made the North Beach Bar and Grill’s Seafood Nachos special was the fried flour tortilla chips. I did not want to fry tortillas. So I opted to do this with baked wonton wrapper chips. Baking flour tortilla chips is an option, but I feel like the baked flour tortillas don’t hold their crunch under the toppings. We will miss out on the puffy, flaky texture of the fried flour tortillas, but the shatteringly crispy texture and light flavor of the wonton chips holds up and will be perfect vehicles for the Seafood Nachos.

Wonton Wrapper Chips

You can certainly skip this step and just use tortilla chips. But the flavor of the wonton chips versus the corn flavor of tortilla chips is noticeable and gives this Seafood Nachos recipe a whole different flavor profile. I am making enough for three to four people. If you want to make this for two, simply cut the recipe in half.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray one or two sheet pans with cooking spray. Slice store bought wonton wrappers in half diagonally, to make two triangles out of each square wrapper. I used half the package (6 ounces) of wonton wrappers for this recipe, making 48 chips. You can simply slice a stack of the wonton wrappers.

Arrange the triangles on the prepared sheet tray in a single layer. Then spray the tops of the chips with more cooking spray. Sprinkle a light pinch of kosher salt over the chips. Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes, until golden on the edges. Repeat with second batch. Let the baked chips cool while we make the toppings.

Quick Queso

For the queso, I am using Velveeta. Cube about 8 ounces of the Velveeta block and place in a small saucepan over low heat. Once the cheese begins to melt, add about 1/4 cup of milk. Keep your eye on it and stir regularly to evenly mix and melt the cheese with the milk.

I like to add a couple tablespoons of pickled jalapeño brine to the queso. This is optional, but it gives the queso a little lift and bite. Either keep the heat on very very low under the queso and continue to regularly stir it, or cut the heat and we can reheat the queso when we are ready to use it.

Shrimp and Chorizo

I am using defrosted, cooked shrimp for this. So start by cooking the chorizo in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks. While the sausage cooks, cut the shrimp into small 1/4-1/2 inch pieces.

Since I am using cooked shrimp, I only want to warm it through. So wait to add the shrimp to the chorizo until the chorizo is cooked through. Once the chorizo is fully cooked, add the shrimp and stir to fully mix the shrimp into the cooked chorizo.

Now, if you cut the heat on the queso, get it going again over low or medium heat. Stir to loosen the queso. If it’s too thick to pour you can stir in a little more milk or jalapeño brine to loosen the queso. Then arrange half of the wonton chips on a serving plate or quarter sheet tray.

Drizzle queso over the chips and top with half of the shrimp/chorizo mixture. Drizzle more queso over the meat mixture.

Then repeat the layering: another layer of chips, queso and shrimp/chorizo mixture, topping with a last drizzle of queso. Top with sliced scallions.

Finish the Seafood Nachos with a generous sprinkling of chopped cilantro and a drizzle of hot sauce, if you like.

We love to make up a batch of nachos to munch on for lunch or a light dinner, so it’s always fun to find a new riff on the classic. This version ticks all kinds of nacho boxes! The sweet shrimp is such a wonderful counterpart to the ultra-savory chorizo; the shatteringly crisp wonton chips held up beautifully under the queso and shrimp mixture.

Nachos are a super easy thing to throw together. You can customize the toppings to suit your taste or to use up what is lingering in the fridge. The possibilities are endless. For a more traditional-style tray of nachos, try: Taco Nachos with Beer Queso. Happy Labor Day, take care and be well! xo Kelly

Give Me All the Sheet Pans

Sheet pans of every size are my most used kitchen items. I use them for so many things from cooking and serving, to organizing ingredients when I head out to the grill. In my opinion, you should have at least two of each size, including at least one jumbo size sheet pan. The quarter sheet pan with a lid is one of my favorites, they are great for baking, storing and reheating things like pizza all in the same pan!

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Seafood Nachos with Shrimp and Chorizo

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Dinner, Main Course, Side, Appetizer, Lunch – Mexican-inspired

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 15 Minutes – Cooking Time: ~25 Minutes – Total Time: ~40 Minutes

A fun riff on nachos; succulent shrimp with chorizo, topped with queso, on a bed of shatteringly crisp baked wonton chips. It's Seafood Nachos!

Ingredients

• Wonton Chips
• ~24 Wonton Wrappers, cut in half diagonally
• Cooking Spray
• Light Pinch of Kosher Salt
• Queso
• 8 oz. Velveeta Cheese, cubed
• 1/4 cup Milk, plus more if needed to loosen or thin the queso
• 2 tbsp. Pickled Jalapeño Brine (optional)
• Seafood Nachos
• 8-10 oz. Mexican Chorizo
• 1 lb. Cooked Shrimp, defrosted and cut into 1/4-1/2-inch pieces
• Finishing Touches
• 3-4 Scallions, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup Chopped Cilantro
• Hot Sauce

Instructions

Wonton Chips

1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray one or two sheet pans with cooking spray. Slice store bought wonton wrappers in half diagonally, to make two triangles out of each square wrapper.

2

Arrange the triangles on the prepared sheet tray in a single layer. Then spray the tops of the chips with more cooking spray. Sprinkle a light pinch of kosher salt over the chips. Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes, until golden on the edges. Repeat with second batch.

Queso

3

Cube about 8 ounces of the Velveeta block and place in a small saucepan over low heat. Once the cheese begins to melt, add about 1/4 cup of milk. Keep your eye on it and stir regularly to evenly mix and melt the cheese with the milk.

4

Stir in a couple tablespoons of pickled jalapeño brine to the queso. This is optional, but it gives the queso a little lift and bite. Either keep the heat on very very low under the queso and continue to regularly stir it, or cut the heat and we can reheat the queso when we are ready to use it.

Seafood Nachos

5

Start by cooking the chorizo in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks. While the sausage cooks, cut the shrimp into small 1/4-1/2 inch pieces.

6

Since we are using cooked shrimp, we only want to warm it through. So wait to add the shrimp to the chorizo until the chorizo is cooked through. Once the chorizo is fully cooked, add the shrimp and stir to full mix the shrimp into the cooked chorizo. Let the shrimp warn through for about 1-2 minutes and cut the heat.

7

Now, if you cut the heat on the queso, get it going again over low or medium heat. Stir to loosen the queso. If it's too thick to pour you can stir in a little more milk or jalapeño brine to loosen the queso.

8

Then arrange half of the wonton chips on a serving plate or quarter sheet tray.

9

Drizzle queso over the chips and top with half of the shrimp/chorizo mixture. Drizzle more queso over the meat mixture.

10

Then repeat the layering: another layer of chips, queso and shrimp/chorizo mixture, topping with a last drizzle of queso. Top with sliced scallions.

11

Finish the Seafood Nachos with a generous sprinkling of chopped cilantro and a drizzle of hot sauce, if you like.

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