How To Make Crispy Potato Skins

Step 1: You will need:

Step 2: Preheat oven

Before beginning to make your potato skins, set the oven to 220 degrees centigrade, or gas mark seven, in readiness to bake your potatoes.

Step 3: Prepare the potatoes

Using a fork, prick the potato with holes all over. This will help them to cook faster. Now place them into a bowl. Next, rub the skins, sparingly, with a little olive oil, to create a crispy skin when baked. But do make sure that entire surface of the potato is covered.

Step 4: Roast the potatoes

Tip the potatoes into a roasting tray. Then transfer them to the centre of the preheated oven. And bake for roughly 45 minutes or until they become soft. Turn them a few times during the cooking process, to make sure that the whole potato is cooking evenly. You can check their readiness by piercing the centre with a knife. It should enter easily, if they are ready. Then remove and set them aside to cool.

Step 5: Preheat the oil

In preparation for frying the potatoes, pour the oil into a pan, over a medium to high heat and allow it to heat hot enough for frying, but don't allow it to smoke.

TIP: Don't discard the rest of the potato. You can use it for mashing later on.

Step 6: Cut the potatoes

Now take a cooled, baked potato and cut it in half. Then using a large spoon, scoop out the core of the potato. And place it into a bowl. Be sure to leave about 5 mm of potato still attached to the skin. Repeat with all the other potatoes.

Step 7: Season the potato skins

Next, cut each potato skin into half once again.
And place all them into a bowl. Then remove just half and transfer them into the roasting tray. Drizzle over the remaining olive oil,
sprinkle with thyme and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Finally, give it all a quick mix with your hands.

Step 8: A Quick Tip

These are two methods of cooking the skins but you only need to choose one. Experiment and use the one you like best!

Step 9: Roast the potatoes again

Now take the roasting tray and place it in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes, turning them at least once. Remove them when they are brown and crispy.

Step 10: Deep fry the potatoes

When the oil is hot enough, carefully lower the remaining half, of your potato skins with your slotted spoon, into the oil. Be very careful of any splash backs! Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to fry them in small batches. Stir them a couple of times to ensure that they all frying evenly. Fry them until they are golden brown, which should take 2-3 minutes. Remove the first batch and place on some paper towel to drain. Take a second batch and fry in exactly the same way, until they are golden brown. Finally, grind a little salt over.

Step 11: Fill and serve

Carefully using a spoon, fill the cooked skins with a chive and crème fraiche mixture, for example. But the choice of fillings are endless. Experiment and enjoy!