Coastal trips, with sparkling sunlit water and homes that hug a little too close to the shoreline, offer many treasures to explore. On one such trip, our wanderlust had our car jogging along the coastline on a scenic route, fast enough to keep the traffic moving, yet slow enough to take in the details. We rode in and out of small towns with red, white, and blue buntings hung in anticipation of July fourth celebrations. Along the way, we found a multicolored restaurant with a second-level entrance with over sixty steps! Although weary from a long day of traveling, we braved the steps and arrived at a restaurant with tight wooden booths, kitschy wall seashell dΓ©cor, and a lobby full of logo printed t-shirts that were as colorful as the outside of the building.
This eclectic brightly-colored restaurant on extra tall stilts had an extensive menu, a faithful following, and delicious food! I ordered a crab entrΓ©e that later inspired my recipe for these crab nachos. Similar to a baked crab dip, these nachos have a full cup of salsa in the mix and are baked on fried flour tortillas. The salsa is surprisingly subtle and compliments the cheese ingredients.
First, cut four flour tortillas into 6 pie slices. A serving is 4 pieces but if this is your main meal, you might want a whole tortilla for yourself!
This dish is garnished with cilantro, and while the leaves can be time-consuming to break from their stems, I have discovered a little herb stripper (above photo) that works for cilantro and other herbs and makes stripping leaves so easy. There are even different sized holes for different stem sizes. Put the stem in a hole and pull and the leaves go into the cup! So quick and easy! I don’t get paid to say so, but I love this gadget. It is called a Chef’n Zipstrip Herb Stripper and you can find one here.
If there is an ingredient that you aren’t fond of, then leave it off because these crab nachos are easy to customize. If you are not a fan of cilantro, substitute parsley if you want extra green on top.
These nachos have a creamy crab topping. In order to keep the tortilla chips crunchy, eat them right away. Usually, that’s not a problem!
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
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- (4) 9-inch flour tortillas, each cut into 6 pieces (See note below for gluten-free option)
- cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
- 2 medium-sized jalapenos, seeded and minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic from a jar)
- 1 cup salsa (plus extra for garnish) (use your favorite brand; mild works best)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
- 8 ounces crab meat, picked clean
- 1/3 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 1/3 cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 medium roma tomato, chopped and seeded
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- parchment paper
Ingredients
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- Cut each flour tortilla into 6 pie-shaped pieces. Then in a heavy pan, heat 1/2 inch of cooking oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Drop a few tortillas into the cooking oil and turn them over after a few seconds. They brown quickly so work fast. Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all are cooked.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the onions and jalapenos and saute until soft. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add 1 cup of salsa and the cream cheese cubes and stir until the cheese melts. Fold in the crabmeat and heat until bubbly.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and place the tortilla chips in a flat layer on top. Spoon the crab mixture evenly over the tortilla chips and then sprinkle with the cheeses. Next add the tomato.
- Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and drizzle with sour cream. Sprinkle the green onions and cilantro over top and serve immediately with salsa.
You can substitute bagged corn tortilla chips if you don't have time to cook the flour tortillas.Β It does change the taste, but it is a good substitute.Β To make this dish gluten-free, use gluten-free corn tortilla chips.
A squeeze bottle works best to drizzle the sour cream; however, other options for sour cream drizzling include using a pastry bag or plastic-zipped sandwich bag with a small hole cut in the corner. Thin the sour cream if necessary with milk or cream.
Roma tomatoes (also called plum) have less liquid than other tomatoes and work well for these nachos.
This recipe has (6) 4-piece servings.