We all know I like a bit of a kick to my food, a little chilli here, a few jalapeños added there so when I was asked if I would like to be part of the new campaign for Tabasco – “Fun With Flavour” which is all about celebrating Tabasco® Pepper Sauce’s ability to transform almost any dish I couldn’t say no. And it really does help transforming so many dishes!
I’ve been experimenting with this awesome sauce range, with my eagerness to cook and be more creative in the kitchen, and now I’m keen to show off my creations (Ok, please be nice…I’m no michelin starred chef!)
It took me a while to decide on the first starter I wanted to experiment with – there are so many I want to make so there’s sure to be more to come, watch this space!
Here’s my first starter – loaded cheesy potato skins (meat-eater or veg-centric).
So many restaurants will probably have this classic featured in their starter section BUT they’re missing one magic ingredient in making these bad boys extra amazing – Tabasco sauce. Ok, I didn’t mean that to sound SO advertising-y, or cheesy, but it’s true – It adds a great flavor and is so simple to add and completely transform normal boring skins!
All you will need to make these tasty skins:
- A few good size potatoes – remember each potato will make two skins, calculate how many you need and choose the size you think best. I prefer my potatoes not too large.
- Bacon (if going for the meat-eater ones) – 1/2 slice per potato skin depending on meatiness
- Onion – I used a third of a large red onion for 3 skins.
- Cheese – a little for mixing in and some for topping (Soft cheese could work for mixing!)
- A little margarine and a splash of milk
- The Chipotle Tabasco Pepper Sauce – which isn’t too spicy, it’s more smoky BBQ.
And this is how you make them:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Start by par-boiling the potatoes – this helps them take a little less time in the oven (save on the energy bills!). Once boiled for roughly 10 minutes (again depending on size), drain, brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and put them on a lined tray. Pop them in the oven.
These should take roughly 30 minutes to crisp up and turn golden. You can turn half way through cooking if you like but if using foil these should cook through.
Whilst the potatoes are roasting prepare your other ingredients.
Chop/cut Bacon into small pieces and fry up before putting to the side in a bowl. Do the same with the Red Onion leaving to the side in a separate bowl.
Once the potatoes look slightly golden remove them from the oven. Preheat your grill.
Take the potatoes and carefully slice in half lengthways – Choose the best way to cut, these will form the shape of your skins. You want them to be shallow and of a large surface preferably.
Carefully scoop out the cooked potato, without going too deep as to break the skin. Place all potato in a dish big enough to mash. Turn the skins over, so the outside of the skins are facing upwards and place them under the grill (this will help with extra crisping up!)
Mash the potato you have removed with the margarine and milk, and a small handful of cheese. Carefully stir in your cooked bacon/onion and a good shake of Chipotle Tabasco sauce.
Take the skins out from under the grill and flip back over. Carefully spoon your tabasco potato mixture into your skins, they will be slightly overfull (LOADED!) and sprinkle with cheese.
This is just before they got attacked with grated cheese!
Pop them back under the grill for 5 or so minutes until the cheese is melted and turning golden.
Voila. There you have it. A pretty easy starter which tastes delicious!
The Smoky Tabasco gives a great BBQ flavor to the skins, so you’ll find you don’t even need sour cream or ketchup! (Yes some people eat ketchup with everything – Alex is stepping away from this, perhaps it’s as I’m making tastier food :P). For all of you not so keen on the spice, the chipotle sauce isn’t really spicy either :)
Go give them a go! You won’t be disappointed!
Chloe xx
*This is part of the #FunWithFlavour Campaign – I was contacted by Tabasco to get involved and become a #FunWithFlavour ambassador which did involved being sent a small gift.
