CHEESY BEEF NACHOS AND DIPS

It was the last game of the Premier league season on Sunday, so I cooked up some food we could eat while we watched the games, nervous for several teams results (I'm an Arsenal fan) and sulking over a game that couldn't make any difference in the boys case (he's QPR). I wanted to cook something I could heat up at half time to serve, and this is the perfect dish for that. I served it with a rack of BBQ ribs, cooked in my BBQ sauce. It's also great if you got friends coming over and want to serve them some snacks to nibble on.

Serves 6.

6 shallots
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp dry oregano
1 to 2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 level tsp chilli flakes
Half tsp salt
1 tsp garlic granules
500g minced beef
200ml beef stock
100g cheddar cheese
Pot of sour cream
Large bag of nachos chips

For the guacamole:
2 avocados
2 limes
Handful coriander

For the salsa:
8 cherry tomatoes
4 spring onions
1 lemon

The thing that makes this recipe taste SO good is the spice mix for the beef. I know you can buy premixes in the supermarkets for fajitas and tacos, but this mix tastes much better than those. You can make lots by doubling or tripling the quantities, and store it in a spice jar.

Measure out all your spices and salt. Grind into a fine powder with a pestle and mortar. If you don't have one, just use ground cumin.

Finely slice the shallots (I use the magimix to get them really thin) and fry gently in olive oil, stirring quite often, for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the ground spice mix and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the beef and cook until brown. At this point tip the stock in, cover and cook on a low heat for 1 hour.

While the beef is cooking, make the guacamole and salsa.

For the guacamole, mash the avocados, and mix with the lime juice and coriander. Season.

Chop the tomatoes into sixths, finely slice the spring onions and pour in the lemon juice.

Pile the beef onto a plate of nachos, and sprinkle with cheese. Serve with the guacamole, salsa and sour cream.