Christmas nachos
Erm…festive nachos?
Yes, you heard correctly. We’re making Christmas nachos a proper thing, and honestly, they’re the perfect companion for festive movie nights. You know the ones, a Channel 5 masterpiece where the rugged tree surgeon who’s dedicated his life to his tiny hometown slowly falls for the ambitious big-city gal sent there to scout land for a new mega shopping centre. But along the way, she learns the true meaning of community, small businesses, and flannel shirts.
I got a bit carried away with that storyline… maybe I’ve missed my calling as a screenwriter?
So, what’s actually on these festive nachos?
Back to the nachos, and trust me, these are worth the detour.
We’re talking a base layer of super-crispy smashed seasoned potatoes, soft cheese (think brie or camembert) and parmesan, crunchy pancetta, a zingy cranberry sauce, garlic and chive sour cream and anything else you feel like flinging on top. There are absolutely no rules here. Leftover cheese from the board? Chuck it on. Extra sage, gravy, stuffing crumbs? Pile it up, Christmas is nothing if not excessive. And doesn’t this plate of potato look beautiful. I’m actually in snack heaven.
Choose your potato base
I’ve gone for smashed spuds here because they give that perfect crispy-chewy nacho vibe, but honestly, use whatever potato you’ve got knocking around. Roasties, chips, fried potato discs (like the Bratkartofflen kind) as long as it supports the mountain of toppings, it’s fair game. The goal is simple: a ridiculous, towering, festive nacho illusion. When else can you be this excessive for a solid month?
Serve it as a party sharer, a movie-night centrepiece, or demolish it alone in your cosiest pyjamas. Personally, I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening. But maybe that’s just me?!
Christmas nachos
By Poppy Cooks
https://www.poppycooks.com/recipes/christmas-nachos/
Ingredients
For the smash potatoes
- 6 medium maris pipers
- 2 tsp onion granules
- 2 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 2 tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- Enough olive oil to make a paste
- Salt for the potato water
Metric
Imperial
To stack your nachos
- 150g soft cheese (think camembert, brie, even Boursin)
- 3 tbsp cranberry sauce
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp red onion chutney
- Pinch of sugar
- 150g sour cream
- Small bunch of chives, chopped
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- 200g pancetta lardons, cooked and crispy
- Small bunch of sage, leaves picked
- Parmesan cheese, for grating
Metric
Imperial
Instructions
- Chop your potatoes in half (don’t bother peeling them!) and bring to the boil in cold salted water for 15-20 minutes until tender but not cooked through. Drain the potatoes and leave to steam dry for 5 minutes with a clean tea towel over the top.
- Mix all your dry spices together with the olive oil to make a thick paste and set aside. On a large baking tray, space out the potatoes and use the bottom of a jar or tin to press them down so they have lots of edges to go crispy.
- Spoon the spice paste over the potatoes and then roast in the oven for 1 hour at 180ºc fan/200ºc/350ºf, flipping the potatoes after 40 minutes.
- While the potatoes are roasting in the oven, get started on your toppings. In a bowl, mix together the cranberry sauce, red wine vinegar, pinch of sugar, red onion chutney and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust to your liking, then set aside.
- Mix together the sour cream, garlic and chopped chives with a pinch of salt and pepper. When your potatoes have crisped up in the oven, start to layer up your nacho tower. Start with a base of crispy spuds, then some of your soft cheese, tangy cranberry sauce, crispy pancetta lardons and a grating of parmesan. Repeat the process for a second layer.
- Place your plate of nachos into the oven for 10 minutes until the cheeses have melted and turned gooey. Carefully remove from the oven and give a final grating of parmesan, and some big spoonfuls of the garlicky sour cream on top.