Chipotle Potato Skins, Blue Cheese Dip & Avocado Salsa
Potato skins, particularly when ‘fully loaded’ can be grim. I’ve come across one too many chewy potato boats harbouring a glob of rubbery cheddar and a smattering of flaccid bacon bits. No, thank you.
I’ve taken a slightly different approach to skins by baking and scooping out the potato flesh as usual, but then brushing them with a paste made from oil, salt and chipotle flakes before re-baking them briefly. This maximises crispness on the outside and leaves them coated in a salty, smoky chipotle crust. The top part has a thin layer of soft potato, which I topped with a blob of blue cheese dip and lime-heavy avocado salsa.
We ate them on New Year’s Eve as nibbles presented like this, but you could of course just make a pile of skins and serve the dip and salsa alongside. They’re like the best crisps ever. They were so addictive I nearly spoiled my appetite for the rest of the meal but then the rest of the meal was rib-eye with Béarnaise followed by chocolate cake so, you know, I struggled on…
Chipotle Potato Skins with Blue Cheese Dip and Avocado Salsa (makes 16)
For the potato skins
4 baking potatoes
Chipotle flakes
Salt
Oil (e.g. vegetable or groundnut)
Prick the potatoes and place directly on the oven shelf at 200c for about 1.5 hours or until cooked through. When they’re cooked, cool a little and then cut in half. Scoop out the flesh from each potato, leaving a thin layer inside each skin. Cut each potato skin in half lengthways.
Mix together 1 tablespoon cooking oil with 1 tablespoon chipotle flakes and about half a tablespoon of salt. Brush this paste onto both sides of each skin. Arrange the skins on a baking tray and put back in the oven at 200C for 15 minutes. When ready, top with the blue cheese dip and salsa.
For the blue cheese dip
150-200g blue cheese
200ml sour cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice (ish)
1 teaspoon mustard (I used sweet American mustard)
1 tablespoon chives, snipped with scissors
Make sure the garlic is well crushed then mix with all the other ingredients. Add some black pepper. It may need a little salt.
For the Avocado Salsa
1 avocado, finely diced
Small handful coriander leaves, picked and finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Mix the spring onions, coriander and avocado together, then squeeze in half the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper then taste and decide if you want more lime juice.
Category: Beer, Canapes, Dips, Nibbles, Snacks | Tags: canape recipe, chipotle potato skins blue cheese dip. Avocado salsa, chipotle potato skins recipe, loaded potato skins recipe, nibbles recipe, potato skins recipe 31 comments »
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:51 pm
you are just farking crazy- that is how good this is. i mean this is decadent and amazing. i am going to try this for my next cocktail party. loves it. x s
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:55 pm
Ha ha! Thanks Shayma – I’m glad you like the look of them. I actually made another batch earlier on. Oops… x
January 2nd, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Happy New year Helen! This is just what I need. Must try esp loving the spiced chipotle kick with the creamy blue cheese. Do you think I could use chipotle sauce over the skins? I might consider gate crashing your party for the food. Hehe x
January 2nd, 2012 at 7:14 pm
Happy New Year Maunika! I reckon you could certainly try! The flakes and salt do add a nice crunch though. Thanks for your comment x
January 2nd, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Instead of avocado salsa (which I’m sure is great), could you do them with some kind of chilli salsa? Or maybe just add chillis to the avocado. Or something.
January 2nd, 2012 at 7:39 pm
Well the chipotle flakes make the wedges rather spicy so the blue cheese and avocado contrast that. I don’t think a chilli salsa would work to be honest…
January 2nd, 2012 at 8:00 pm
Yeah I didn’t realise chipotle was spicy. *back in my box*
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:22 am
Bacon! You knows it.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:50 am
Woah. SALT BOMB!
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:53 am
Chris – Oh dear. Maybe you should have googled it before commenting? Or something
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:36 pm
I love this combination of crispy, creamy, spicy and cheesy. Yum. And so much more elegant than their horrendous ‘fully loaded’ counterparts
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:39 pm
They are just SO crunchy underneath! I made a second batch and they all went in about 5 minutes.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:05 pm
What did you do with the potato flesh? Or did I miss where you mention that?
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:07 pm
I made bubble and squeak with it the next day! Yeah, forgot to mention that.
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:48 pm
looks yum! heard alot about these, but never got down to making them! there’s a blog that i used to visit quite a bit, called Closet Cooking, and he does quite a few variations on it which all look yummy!
January 3rd, 2012 at 11:04 pm
I was going to ask what you did with the leftover potato too. Suspect I’d have just melted loads of butter into it and eaten it with a spoon
These look lovely; we had potato skins leftover at Christmas from baking potatoes for mash and we just sprinkled the skins with salt and scoffed the lot then and there. Wish i’d seen these earlier!
January 4th, 2012 at 7:29 am
Yumster
I was lucky enough to go on a tomasina Miers cooking course last year where we made chipotle en adobo (you’ve featured the recipe too) & since then I can’t get enough of that hot smoky flavour… Did you buy your chipotle flakes local?
January 4th, 2012 at 7:30 am
Oh and happy new year
January 4th, 2012 at 7:51 am
Give them a try! They’re very addictive.
January 4th, 2012 at 7:51 am
Ha ha. Happy New Year to you too!
January 4th, 2012 at 7:52 am
Chris ate some of the potato with a spoon! Big ol pile of it. Still had some B & S the next day though
January 4th, 2012 at 5:23 pm
Where are you buying chipotle from? I don’t think I’ve seen it in Khan’s!
January 4th, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Hi Caroline. No, they definitely don’t sell it in Khan’s. You can buy the flakes from SMBS in East Dulwich. Other than that I order online.
January 5th, 2012 at 9:39 am
Thanks, I’ll check out SMBS. Though I am leaning towards a motto for life of “If they don’t sell it in Khan’s, I don’t need to eat it.”
January 5th, 2012 at 10:08 am
In most cases, that’s a very sensible motto!
January 5th, 2012 at 8:54 pm
Especially as khans Is at least 50% cheaper than smbs
January 6th, 2012 at 8:35 am
At LEAST!
January 9th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
HOLY SMOKES! Those potato skins look phenomenal. I can’t wait to make them! Thanks and happy new year to you (and after reading this… to me too!)
January 9th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Happy new year! And glad you like the look of the skins.
January 15th, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Made these last night, and oh my how delicious! i saved this recipe in my recipe book this is one for the games days!
Thanks so much Helen,
Tahoe Treasure Chest
January 16th, 2012 at 7:48 am
Really glad you liked them!