Italian Nachos - Johnny Carino's Copycat

From the menu at Johnny Carino's:

Italian Nachos - Crispy pasta chips baked with ground Italian sausage and/or sliced grilled chicken, pepperoncini peppers, black olives, roma tomatoes and jalapenos. Topped with creamy alfredo sauce, melted mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

I think we got everything here except the black olives and tomatoes (my husband is not a fan of either). This is so incredibly yummy.

Italian Nachos - Johnny Carino's Copycat
Serves 2-4

1 Package wontons (found in the produce section), cut on the diagonal to form triangles
1 package ground pork, cook in a saute pan until browned
1 6-ounce package grilled chicken pieces (sometimes found in the salad section)
1 jar Pepperochini peppers (I got mild)
Shaved Parmesan for garnish
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup sliced olives
jalepenos (optional)

For the Cheese Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
2 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or other good-quality Parmesan

1. In a heavy, medium saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Add the garlic and then the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and whisk in the half-and-half little by little. Cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat; add 2 cups of the grated Parmesan. Season with the salt, pepper and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside.

2. Heat a heavy saucepan or deep fryer to medium. Cook the wontons until light brown. This only takes a few seconds per side. Set aside on paper towels to drain.

3. Pile the wontons on a large serving platter. Drizzle with warm cheese sauce. Add sausage, chicken, tomatoes, olives and peppers. Top with shaved Parmesan.


Cheese sauce recipe by Michael Chiarello. Recipe put together by me.