Buffalo Skins

You tend to think of loaded potato skins as being really unhealthy and invariably they are. In contrast, Buffalo Skins from Pinch of Nom are a revelation – just 68 calories per spud, really tasty and these can be enjoyed by vegetarians, too.

This recipe went down well with my wife, son and daughter who is a vegan. Personally, I wasn’t happy with my execution of it. Some of the sweet potatoes were still hard after 10 minutes in the microwave, so as the book suggests it’s a good idea to check and, if necessary, leave them in for longer. And as a result of the potatoes being hard, it was trickier to scoop out the flesh which in the end made for a frustrating exercise.

If you love the concept of this, check out Pinch of Nom’s first book as they have a calorie friendly bacon and potato skins recipe in it, which I’ve yet to try but it looks great. Alternatively, cajun sweet potatoes by Jamie Oliver is a doddle to make, even for me.

Recipe: Buffalo Skins

Calories: 68 per serving

Serves: 4

Book: Pinch of Nom

Prep time: Approx 10 mins

Cooking time: Approx 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 5 spring onions (trimmed and chopped)
• 20g reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (grated)
• 75g low-fat cream cheese
• 1 tsp buffalo wings hot sauce
• Sea salt
• Ground black pepper
• 15g Parmesan cheese grated (or vegetarian hard cheese)
• Green salad, to serve

Cost per portion: Approx £0.45

Method:

Pierce the skins of the sweet potatoes and microwave them for around 10 minutes or until they are cooked, then leave them to cool slightly. If you don’t have a microwave, preheat the oven to 200 degrees C / Fan 180 degrees C / gas mark 6 and bake the potatoes for 35-45 minutes or until cooked through.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C / Fan 180 degrees C / gas mark 6.

Cut the cooked sweet potatoes in half lengthways, then scoop out the inside of each half and place it in a bowl. Mash it roughly with a fork, then stir in the spring onions, Cheddar, cream cheese and hot sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. You can freeze the filled sweet potatoes at this point for cooking on another day.

Place the empty sweet potato shells on a baking tray. Spoon the mixture back into the empty shells, pressing it in slightly. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the top of each potato and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve warm or cold with a fresh green salad.