Mexican potato skins

Mexican potato skins

mexican potato skins baking tray top down

A typical Greek island winter has no shortage of sun accompanied by strong winds and an occasional ferocious storm. My biggest challenge is fitting my running sessions in around the blustery days. This is my standard conversation with Duncan, who, bless his socks, runs with me on his recovery days, 3 times a week.

“Are you coming running today?”

“Don’t think so, it’s too windy, I shall do some pilates inside instead.”

“Nah, it’s not that windy at all. It’s a bit gusty, but you’ll be okay.”

“You really think so? All right then…”

Half an hour later as we are trudging along a windswept beach against the headwind so strong that you can barely hear what the other person is saying, I crack the s***s a little.

“What were you thinking?? You told me the wind wasn’t THAT BAD. This is torture!”

“It must have picked up a little…”

Yeah, right! Admittedly, once we finish the run I’m always super happy I did go out and, let’s be honest, without this little white lie, I would have certainly stayed at home. Running against the elements takes a lot more energy so once you’ve showered you tend to get ravenously hungry. All you want to do is to curl up on the sofa with a nice recovery meal and maybe a small glass of wine for all your effort. This is where today’s Mexican potato skins come into play. You can prepare their components well in advance, in fact the dish will taste better if you do that. It’s a filling and satisfying meal that combines a healthy dose of carbs, protein, fibre, good fats and antioxidants – a perfect package to help your beat up muscles recover as fast as they can. If you, like me, adore vibrant Mexican flavours and crispy potato skins, you’ll be craving this simple dish on your recovery days too.

potato skins before and after

mexican potato skin

mexican potato skins top down close

mexican potato skins close up

mexican potato skins on a baking tray

makes
12 skins
PREP
10 min
COOKING
30 min
makes
12 skins
PREPARATION
10 min
COOKING
30 min
INGREDIENTS

SOUR CASHEW CREAM

  • ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 8 hours
  • salt, to taste
  • lemon or lime juice, to taste

POTATO SKINS & BEAN FILLING

  • 6 large potatoes
  • 3 cups of cooked black beans
  • 2 shallots, finely chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 2 level tsp cumin
  • 1½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp hot chilli powder
  • juice of ½-1 lime
  • sprinkle of pul biber / mild chilli (optional)
  • ½-1 tsp salt
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1 spring onion, sliced
  • a few cherry toms, chopped
  • a handful of fresh coriander, to serve
  • olive oil

METHOD
SOUR CASHEW CREAM

  1. Rinse the cashews well and put them into a blender with a splash of water. Start blending. You will need a silicone spatula to scrape the walls of the blender regularly.
  2. Add just enough water to make the cashew cream thick and smooth. Season with lemon juice and some salt. It is best to make the cream in advance and put in the fridge for a few hours as this will thicken as it chills.

POTATO SKINS & BEAN FILLING

  1. Scrub the potatoes well and parboil them for about 15 mins. Once parboiled, pour hot water out of the pot and fill it with cold water to stop the potatoes from cooking any further.
  2. Heat up the oven to 175° C / 350° F and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
  3. Cut cooled-down potatoes into halves lengthwise (cut them so that the resulting halves are stable). Using a melon baller or an apple corer, scoop most of the flesh out leaving about ½ cm / 1/8″ of flesh all over*.
  4. Brush exposed potato flesh with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and optionally pul biber (or mild chilli). Bake them for about 20 minutes, then turn the oven up to 250° C / 480° F and move the tray with potatoes up one notch. Bake for another 10-15 mins, until the rims are nicely browned.
  5. While the potatoes are baking, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Fry shallots and garlic until shallots are translucent and garlic soft. Add all the spices (cumin, chilli, cinnamon and smoked paprika) and coat shallot and garlic mixture in them. Fry for another 2 minutes stirring frequently so that the spices do not burn. Smash half the black beans with a potato masher. Add all of the black beans (whole and smashed) into the pan with a few splashes of water. Cook on a gentle heat for a few minutes until beans start bubbling gently (add a touch more water if the mixture is too thick). Season with salt and lime juice.
  6. Fill baked potato skins with refried beans, sprinkle with chopped tomato, spring onion and fresh coriander. Serve with avocado slices and cashew cream on top.

NOTES
*DON’T THROW AWAY scooped out potato balls – they make the most delicious fries! Coat them in some olive oil, season and bake in 250° C / 480° F oven until browned and crispy. We had them the next day with leftover toppings.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
245
12%
sugars
2 g
3%
fats
6 g
8%
saturates
1 g
5%
proteins
9 g
17%
carbs
42 g
16%
*per skin
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5.0
1 review, 13 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Dayna:
I found the instructions easy to follow, just make sure the potatoes aren’t too cooked so they retain their structure. I used a Mellon baller just fine. Bake the shells at 350f then move them to the top rack at 480 like she said. Easy peezy! Making these with a salad on the side. I had loads of black beans I needed to use so this was perfect! Thanks Ania!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Dayna. I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed this dish. Ania
Monica:
Looks delicious! What kind of red pepper did you slice on top?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, it's red chilli! Ania
Maggie Unzueta:
This dish looks incredibly good. I wish it were on my plate!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Maggie!
Rosemary:
Just clarifying.. Would you prepare filling the day prior to eating, and cook the potatoes on the day. Are these meant to be eaten cold ?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Rosemary, you could do that if you wish, but I made them on the same day. You can have them either warm or cold, it's up to you, but I think that warm are nicer. Hope that helps! Ania
Kate:
I agree...what do you do with the 350 oven??
    Ania
    Ania:
    Please see instructions, step 5 and 6 explains this - I bake potato skins for 20 mins in 350 oven, then increase the temperature to 480 and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the potato shells are browned and crispy on the edges. Hope that helps! Ania
Nancy:
This sounds and looks wonderful. A perfect party dish too, I can't wait to try. The bean filling sounds so delicious, and also versitile; it could be used as a baked or mashed potatoe topping or even for nachos. Thank you for so many wonderful recipes.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks for kind words, Nancy!:)
Martha:
I think you left out a part, what do you do with the oven when it's at 350? I tried doing this recipe and my potatoes are way too hard to scoop out after they're boiled.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Martha.
    I have just re-read the instructions and there isn't anything missing. In step 4, I pre-heat the oven and in step 6 (after the potatoes have been hollowed in step 5) I bake them for 30-35 mins.
    With regards to the second point, as you can imagine it is really hard for me to give you a hard and fast rule on how long to parboil the potatoes for as it really depends on their size. What tool did you use to scoop the flesh out with? As I said in the recipe, I used a melon baller (which has sharp edges) and it worked a treat. The potatos are not meant to be soft at this point or else they will be too soft before they get a chance to crisp up.
    Hope you do give it another go.
    Ania
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