Mexican potato skins

Step 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.

Step 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.

Step 3

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.

Step 4

Heat up the oven to 175° C / 350° F and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.

Step 5

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*.

Step 6

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.

Step 7

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.

Step 8

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.