Mexican Fried Rice Nachos with Spicy Cashew Coriander Cream from One Part Plant | v + gf

One of the few podcasts I've listened to consistently throughout the years is the One Part Podcast with Jessica Murnane. It's something with Jessica's honesty and humor that makes me come back to this podcast again and again, almost regardless of the guests. Though the conversations are real and deeply personal, I often find myself laughing out loud to some silly comment or hilarious side-track.You know when you follow someone online for a long time to the point where you almost feel like you know the person? That's how I feel about Jessica. I know all about her struggles with endometriosis, I know about her crazy cookbook year and her move to Charleston. I also know all about her plant based journey, which speaks to me on so many levels. I too come from a place of hormone imbalance (though PCOS and not endo) which motivates me to take better care of my health and manage what I eat in order to relieve the symptoms and have a somewhat normal period. I too struggle with fitting this into my daily, social life. I've also experienced the logistical problems, the skepticism and the loss of many of my favorite foods (like bread. And beer...).So you can imagine my reaction switching from familiarity to star-strucked when I saw her name in my inbox one day, asking if I wanted a copy of her book One Part Plant (that just got released in Europe) and perhaps republish a recipe on my blog if I liked it. Hell yeah!Flicking through the book, I knew instantly that this book and I are gonna be good friends. What really spoke to me was the simplicity and everyday kinda feeling. Despite being such a foodie, I shy away from recipes that seem too complicated or require special ingredients I don't have. I prefer the straight up recipes like "Spicy Broccoli Rice" or "Za'atar Sweet Potatoes and Garlicky Kale" (both examples from the book) and then that's literally what it is (in a perfect harmony of flavors and textures, ofc ;-). Jessica takes a refreshing amount of liberty in her recipes, mixing and matching inspiration from all over the world, and more often than not she takes the lazy route. Who has the time or energy to make fried rice the "proper" way anyway? Especially if you can do it so much faster (and equally delicious) another way. Pretty much sums up my entire cooking philosophy!Despite a tonne of delicious sounding and totally manageable recipes you can throw together on a weeknight, Jessica has included a bunch of "Notes from the Field" in the book, on what it's like to transition into a plant-based diet. Like, how your friends looove to harass the waiter at the restaurant on how you're VEEGAAAN and require "special" food, or how many times you've been served iceberg lettuce (only) at dinner parties and pretended you weren't that hungry anyway (too many times) or how sad it is not being able to join in on the birthday cake or thanksgiving celebrations. It's funny and 100% relatable.The recipes in this book are quite different from the food I normally cook, which made it super hard to pick one to blog about as I was curious of all of them. I decided to challenge myself styling-wise and pick an exceptionally messy one. Like, one that's almost impossible to style. You just have to give in to the messiness and let the styling reflect the only way you can possibly eat this dish - with your hands and with a paper towel close by. A nachos plate seemed like the perfect subject for this challenge.I've had these strange Mexican inspired food cravings lately. I'm done with the comfy, earthy and almost sweet winter foods like roasted roots and stews. Instead I want crisp, tangy, spicy, fresh and savory summer food.  I'm dreaming about hot weather, lime juice, creamy avocado, spicy jalapeño and cold (gf) beer.This Mexican Fried Rice Nachos plate is all that. Best part is, I can add whatever toppings I happen to be craving that day. And - It's sharable! :D Friday night hangs solved. Since we already concluded that no one has the time or energy to make proper fried rice, I used some leftover jasmine rice from the day before and just let it sizzle in the pan for a couple of minutes, along with spices, beans and corn. It literally took me like 15 minutes to assemble the entire plate. Win!Find the recipe after the jump!Notes: The original recipe for the coriander cream is a super basic and mild one, but I wanted some extra spiciness to these nachos so I added jalapeño to mine. I also had plenty of parsley at hand which I threw in there for good measure. Both of these things are totally optional. 

Mexican Fried Rice Nachos with Spicy Cashew Coriander Cream | v + gf

From One Part Plant by Jessica Murnane. Re-published with permission.serves 4-6, as a side/snackolive oil or coconut oil1 small onion, chopped2 garlic cloves, minced1 jalapeño, seeded and choppeda good pinch of ground cuminsea salt200 g cooked black beans, drained and rinsed if tinnedkernels from 2 ears boiled or grilled corn (or one small jar tinned corn)1 tbsp fresh lime juice135 g cooked jasmine rice2 tsp tamari (or regular soy sauce)1 bag of corn tortilla chipsSpicy Cashew Coriander Cream60 g raw cashew nuts, soaked overnight15 g / one handful of fresh coriander15 g / one handful of fresh parsley* (optional)1/2 jalapeño, with or without seeds* (optional)2 tbsp fresh lime juice, or to tastepinch of sea salt125 ml water, plus more if needed* my additions.Topping suggestionsAvocadoCucumberTomatoRed bell pepperFresh corianderPicklesSriracha

Directions

First make the coriander cream. The night before, soak cashew nuts in plenty of cold water. Leave overnight. (tbh - I skipped this, because I forgot and besides my blender is powerful enough ;-).The next day, drain the water from the nuts and place in a high-speed blender. Add coriander, parsley, chopped jalapeño (with out without seeds), lime juice, water and salt and blend until completely smooth. Add more lime juice if you like, or more water for a runnier consistency. Set aside.In a large frying pan, head some oil over medium heat and sauté the onions until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeño, cumin and pinch of salt and cook for another few minutes. Stir in the black beans and corn. Cook for a minute or two. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the lime juice. Set aside.Drain any excess liquid from the frying pan and place it over high heat. Add a glug of oil. When the pan is hot, add the jasmine rice after using your hands to break up any clumps. Toss the rice around the pan for about 3 minutes. When you see a few grains browning, put the beans and corn mixture back into the frying pan, add tamari and toss everything together until the mixture is combined and piping hot.On a large plate or baking tray, spread out the tortilla chips and top them with fried rice. Add any toppings you like and serve immediately with plenty of coriander cream. Nom nom nom!Love,AgnesLike this post? Hit the heart-button at the top or bottom of the post! That way I know which content you love and wanna see more of :-) Thanks!-The recipe in this post was created by Jessica Murnane and re-published with permission. All photographs and content are Cashew Kitchen originals. Re-publishing of recipes is not allowed without the author's consent. Feel free to go wild on pinning, but remember all content is copyright protected.  Always link back here and credit Cashew Kitchen when sharing. Thanks!