Chicken Nachos

Method

1. season5 min
   shredded chicken tossed with the spices while still warm
   chicken + cumin + chili powder + salt. Season it separately and before it meets anything else — spices scattered over an assembled tray end up on the top chips only, and the chicken underneath tastes of nothing
2. grate4 min
   from a block, coarse holes
   cheese grated. From a block rather than a bag: pre-grated cheese is coated with starch or cellulose to stop it caking, and that coating is exactly what stops it flowing smoothly when melted
3. fold6 min
   two shallow layers on a large tray — chips, toppings, cheese, then repeat
   half the chips spread in a single overlapping layer, then half the chicken + beans + jalapeños + cheese, then the rest of the chips and the rest on top. Layering rather than piling is the whole technique: cheese poured over a heap coats only the surface, and everything beneath stays bare. Keep the total depth to two shallow layers — a third means a steamed middle
4. bake12 min
   200°C, middle rack, uncovered, until the cheese is fully melted and bubbling
   until the cheese has melted through both layers and is bubbling at the edges. Oven rather than broiler — a broiler browns the top in ninety seconds while the lower layer is still cold, and there is no way to correct it without burning what is already done
5. season3 min
   wet toppings AFTER baking, scattered not poured
   + scallion + cilantro (+ sour cream, + guacamole, + salsa, + cotija, + lime) added once the tray is out. Every wet topping goes on now: baked in, their water soaks the chips beneath into paste, and cold dairy splits in the oven. Serve immediately — nachos have a serving window of a few minutes and there is no way to hold them