Loaded Nachos with Pulled Chicken and Guacamole

Ingredients

• 600g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 150ml chicken stock
• 1½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp chipotle paste
• 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• juice of ½ lime
• 200g plain tortilla chips
• 50g pickled jalapeños, drained
• 150g Monterey Jack or mature cheddar, grated
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• 1 fresh red chilli, finely diced
• 2 ripe avocados
• juice of 1 lime
• 15g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 3 ripe vine tomatoes, finely diced
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• juice of ½ lime
• 10g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• pinch of dried chilli flakes, to serve
• 150ml sour cream, to serve
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
• fresh coriander leaves, to finish
• Warm flour tortillas, to serve
• Shredded iceberg and red cabbage slaw, to serve
• Pickled red cabbage, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wide, lidded frying pan over a medium-high heat. Pat the chicken thighs dry — water means steam, and steam means no browning — then season generously with salt and pepper. Sear in two batches if your pan is on the small side; crowd them and they'll boil in their own juices instead of building that deep golden crust. Three minutes each side until the edges are properly caramelised.
2. Drop the heat to medium and add the smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder and oregano with the chipotle paste, stirring for 45–60 seconds to bloom the spices in the pan oil. Raw spices taste dusty; bloomed spices taste of themselves. The garlic powder will smell toasty fast — keep it moving so it doesn't catch and turn bitter.
3. Pour in the stock and scrape up every sticky brown bit from the base of the pan — that's pure flavour, and it's why we're not using non-stick. Cover, drop the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until the chicken pulls apart at the nudge of a fork.
4. While the chicken cooks, halve and stone the avocados, scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash roughly with a fork — you want chunks, not paste. Stir in the lime juice, red onion, chilli and coriander, then season with salt and taste. Adjust now — at the end, not at the table.
5. For the salsa, combine the diced tomatoes, red onion, lime juice and coriander in a small bowl. Season well with salt and leave to mingle for at least 10 minutes — the salt draws the tomato juice out and the whole thing becomes a proper sauce.
6. Warm the black beans in a small saucepan over a low heat with the cumin and lime juice for 3–4 minutes until heated through and fragrant. Taste and season.
7. Preheat the grill to high. Lift the chicken onto a board and shred with two forks into rough strands, then return it to the pan and stir through the spiced juices until every shred is glossy. Taste one more time — this is the last seasoning moment before it hits the chips.
8. Spread the tortilla chips across a large, deep oven tray in as even a layer as you can manage. Scatter over the warm black beans, then pile on the pulled chicken with all its juices. Dot the jalapeños across the top and blanket the lot with the grated cheese, making sure it reaches the chips at the edges — bare chips burn under the grill.
9. Slide under the hot grill for 4–5 minutes until the cheese is bubbling, stretchy and starting to blister and brown in patches. Watch it — the difference between molten and scorched is about 30 seconds.
10. Pull the tray out and spoon the guacamole and tomato salsa in generous dollops across the top, then add bold spoonfuls of soured cream. Scatter torn coriander leaves and a pinch of dried chilli flakes, squeeze a lime wedge over everything, and tuck the warm flour tortillas, slaw and pickled red cabbage alongside. Bring it to the table while the cheese is still pulling strings.