Potato skins occupy an essential spot on the Super Bowl party table, right up there with chicken wings, nachos and meatball sliders. They’re easy to make at home, and can be taken in lots of fun directions. For a local spin, try sweet potatoes as your backdrop.
This recipe uses that classic pub combo of bacon and cheese, but you can add all sorts of creative toppings, from blue cheese and crabmeat, to Monterrey Jack and sliced jalapeños and black beans. It’s also perfectly delicious to use a bacon substitute, like Hanley’s Bacom Bits (shown in our photo), which are made from mushrooms. Because sweet potatoes have thinner skin than white potatoes, it’s important to leave about a ¼-inch of the cooked potato behind, and to broil them before adding cheese.
Bacon-Cheese Sweet Potato Skins
Servings: Makes 1 dozen skins
|
|
|
6 small sweet potatoes
8-10 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese
Sour cream and green onions for garnish
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and pierce the sweet potatoes and roast for about 50 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the oven. Cool, until easy to handle. Slice down the middle lengthwise, and carefully scoop out the cooked sweet potato, leaving about ¼-inch around the inside of the skin. Reserve the cooked sweet potato for another use, such as muffins, quick breads, pancakes or mashed sweet potatoes.
Turn the oven to broil. Brush the inside and outside of each skin with a little oil of your choice or even bacon grease. Broil 6-8 inches from the heat for about 2 minutes on each side, keeping a close eye to ensure the skins crisp, but do not burn.
|
|
|
Remove from the oven. Add the crumbled bacon and some of the cheese to the inside of each skin. Return to the oven to melt the cheese. Remove and place on a serving platter, adding green onions and sour cream for garnish.
Enjoy!
Maggie Heyn Richardson is a regular 225 contributor. Reach her at hungryforlouisiana.com.