Smashed Potato Nachos
6
- Prep Time40 min
- Total Time1 h 40 min
- MakesServes 4
So long chips—golden, crunchy, smashed potatoes make the perfect nacho base in this delicious recipe excerpted from Poppy Cooks: The Potato Book.
Ingredients
2 kg mini potatoes, halved (no need to peel)
salt and black pepper
Spiced Oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic granules
2 tbsp olive oil
Pickled Red Onions
1 red onion finely sliced
juice of 3–4 limes
a pinch of caster sugar
Serve and Garnish
1 ripe avocado
½ red onion, finely diced
juice of 1 lime
small bunch of coriander, leaves finely chopped
3 slices of American processed cheese
splash of whole milk, or as needed
sour cream
sliced pickled jalapeños
sliced red chili
sliced spring onions
Instructions
Get your potatoes into a saucepan of heavily salted, cold water. Place the pan over a high heat and bring the water to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave on a gentle boil for 20 to 25 min, until the potatoes fall off the tip of a knife. Drain in a colander. Place the colander over the pan on the turned-off hob and leave to steam-dry with a tea towel over the top for 5 to 10 min.
Meanwhile, heat your oven to 400F.
On a large baking tray, space out the potatoes and use the bottom of a jar or tin to press them down and crush them so they have lots of edges to go crispy.
To make the spiced oil, mix together the smoked paprika, garlic granules and a big pinch each of salt and pepper with the olive oil. Use some of this to brush all over the potatoes, then roast them in the oven for 30 to 40 min, before flipping them over, brushing with a little more spiced oil, and roasting for 15 to 20 min more, until the spiced oil has turned a dark red and the potatoes are cooked and crispy.
Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the pickled red onions (you want just enough lime juice to cover them) and leave them to soften and infuse for at least 10 min, then set aside.
Destone the avocado and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Smash the avocado with a fork and mix through the red onion, lime juice and chopped coriander. Season well with salt and pepper.
In a small microwaveable bowl, microwave the American cheese slices with the splash of milk, on full power in 30-sec bursts. Stir after each burst, until the cheese has melted to a sauce. Add in a bit more milk if it is a little thick.
Layer up the potatoes with the pickled onions, dollops of guacamole and sour cream, and a few jalapeño and chilli slices, then drizzle with the cheese sauce and garnish with a sprinkling of spring onions
Love potatoes? So does self-proclaimed potato queen Poppy O'Toole, a British Michelin-trained chef famous for her spuds recipes—including this delectable green goddess potato salad.
Excerpted from Poppy Cooks: The Potato Book by Poppy O’Toole. Copyright © 2025 Poppy O’Toole. Photographs by Ellis Parrinder. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
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