Funky cheese and onion potato skins

My family love to BBQ, but BBQ season doesn’t have to be intimidating for vegans. There are loads of great recipes online, including all sorts of variations on potato skins. I just made these up on the go (as with all my recipes!) and you can’t beat just grilling fresh veggies with a little salt and pepper. Down with cardboard veggie sausages and up with flavour-packed plant power (Y).

These potato skins are super easy to prepare ahead of time, and then crisped up for ten minutes straight on the grill. You could use vegan cheeze instead of or as well as cashew cheeze if you have any and want to save time. They are hands down the best potato skins I’ve ever had, so simple and yet so moreish! Bring on the next BBQ.

You don’t actually have to soak cashew nuts, which many recipes call for. Softening them does make it easier for your blender and helps prevent the blades blunting, but if you’re really pushed for time, it will taste the same if you skip this step.

Ingredients (makes 8 skins):

4 big potatoes

Red onion chutney OR fried red onions

Parsley, chopped, ripped, or shredded

For the cheeze:

2 handfuls cashew nuts (ideally, soaked for at least an hour, perhaps while the potatoes are roasting)

Lemon juice

Handful nutritional yeast

Garlic salt

Smoked Paprika

Turmeric

Cayenne Pepper

Method:

First, coat your potatoes in oil, salt and pepper, and roast until cooked through, but be careful not to burn them (around 45 minutes, depending on size).

Cashew Cheese:

Blend cashew nuts with a cup of water, nutritional yeast, salt, lemon juice, and garlic powder. Add the turmeric, paprika, and cayenne pepper to taste. Thicken with more yeast if necessary.

As you can see, a glass of iced white wine helps all cooking processes.

When the potatoes are cooked, slice in half and scoop out the filling with a spoon. Set aside half the potato (save for mash, a salad, bubble and squeak…) Mash together with onion/onion chutney, parsley, and cheeze.