Cheesy Chips

 

The potato is my favorite vegetable.  When asked what I would take if I could only take one food item to a desert Island, my answer would always be a bag of potatoes.  There is no limit to what you can do with the humble potato.  Self propagating and delicious.  With a bag of potatoes, you would have something to eat forever with proper planning.

I saw this recipe for cheesy chips on a blog called Fuss Free Flavors.  Apparently they are a British Chip Shop favorite offering.  Admittedly I never ran across them in any chip shop I frequented when I lived in the U.K. so maybe they are a regional thing. I can promise you if a cheesy sauce had been offered to enjoy with my chips, I would have gladly gotten it!

 

The British love their chips or French fries  as they are also called in North America. In my home, growing up, we always called them chips.  It was a real treat night if my mother made us weiners and chips for our supper.  She would fry both the potatoes and the weiners in the hot fat together.

Oh boy but they were some good. We enjoyed both of them with tomato ketchup for dipping.  We did not get chips very often and when we did they were really considered something special.  

The only other time we had chips to eat was if we were eating out, which, when I was a child, almost never happened. My mother cooked all of our food.

 

I remember an instance when we were moving from Manitoba to Nova Scotia.  (My father was in the Canadian Armed Forces.)  We had stopped at a restaurant to eat just across the Manitoba border.  Of course all of us children wanted chips for our lunch/dinner.

The waitress brought us bags of potato chips. We were all most disappointed. My mother would not let us send them back, and so we missed out on having fries.  We made sure from then on to make sure that we said we wanted French Fries, and we had them for every meal!

If these Cheesy Chips had been on offer, I am sure we would have chosen them for every meal!  Fabulously tasty, they would have gone down a real treat with all of us!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE EASY CHEESY CHIPS

Just a few simple ingredients.  Use the best that you can and you will be rewarded with a really delicious side dish or snack!

• 9 ounces (generous half pound/250g) oven chips
• 2 tsp cornstarch (corn flour) whisked together with 1 TBS of milk
• 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
• 2/3 cup (80g) grated sharp/strong cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp turmeric (optional, I did not use)

 

You can use any brand or style of frozen oven chip that you enjoy. I do recommend a chunkier chip which will stand up nicely to this lovely and thick sauce.  I made my own, from scratch crispy air fryer chips, which worked beautifully.

Use a good quality, strong flavored cheddar cheese. This will give you the best flavor. I used a white cheddar rather than a dyed cheddar.  Make sure you use garlic powder, NOT garlic salt.

Dijon mustard and cheese are perfect partners and go wonderfully well together in this lovely sauce.

I did not use the turmeric. Had I done so my sauce would have had a much more yellow color. It all depends on what you prefer if you use it or  not. I preferred mine to have a much more natural looking sauce.

 

HOW TO MAKE EASY CHEESY CHIPS

 You can either make your own chips in the air fryer, or you can use oven chips.  This sauce is a very simple and quick sauce to make, so don't start it until after your chips are just about ready to eat so that the chips are nice and hot when you go to spoon the sauce over top!  Alternately you can just dip the chips in the hot cheesy sauce!

Prepare your frozen chips according to the package directions and keep warm while you make the sauce. (I made my crispy air fryer chips.)

Whisk the cornstarch together with the milk in a medium saucepan until you have a smooth paste. Slowly whisk in the remaining milk. Place over medium heat.

 

Add the cheese and cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese has melted and the sauce begins to thicken. Whisk in the garlic powder and Dijon mustard. (And turmeric if using.)

Cook for several minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Serve immediately, spooned over the hot chips. Enjoy!

 

These were really delicious!  Such a simple make as well. I made my own chips in the air fryer (so easy to make) and then just spooned the sauce over top of the hot fries.

I could have easily scarfed down the whole lot myself, they were that good!  Make sure you use a nice, quality, well flavored cheddar cheese for a sauce that is exceptionally tasty.  I am thinking some chopped spring onions would be very nice scattered over top of these!

 

If the potato is your favorite vegetable as it is mine, then you might also enjoy the following tasty potato recipes!

CHEESE & BROCCOLI STUFFED JACKET POTATOES - Really really tasty stuffed twice baked potatoes, containing crispy tender bits of broccoli and a tasty strong cheddar.  These are a fabulous way of getting in some of your five a day and really tasty way to get your broccoli haters to eat broccoli!

DIRTY FRIES AND FRY SAUCE - These easy oven chips have seeds added to them which helps to increase the fiber and makes them a bit more diabetic friendly.  Skin on, hand cut potatoes are tossed with a bit of olive oil, some dehydrated onion and garlic flakes, white and black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, some flaked sea salt, ground black pepper and paprika. You can use hot or sweet paprika. Its up to you. Roasted/oven fried until crisp and golden brown they are delicious served with a lush and tasty fry sauce for dipping. 

Yield: 2 servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Cheesy Chips

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Crispy chips with a lush cheese sauce spooned over top. An incredibly moreish once in a blue moon treat.

Ingredients

• 9 ounces (generous half pound/250g) oven chips
• 2 tsp cornstarch (corn flour) whisked together with 1 TBS of milk
• 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
• 2/3 cup (80g) grated sharp/strong cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp turmeric (optional, I did not use)

Instructions

1. Prepare your frozen chips according to the package directions and keep warm while you make the sauce. (I made my crispy air fryer chips.)
2. Whisk the cornstarch together with the milk in a medium saucepan until you have a smooth paste. Slowly whisk in the remaining milk. Place over medium heat.
3. Add the cheese and cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese has melted and the sauce begins to thicken. Whisk in the garlic powder and Dijon mustard. (And turmeric if using.)
4. Cook for several minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy and coats the back of a spoon.
5. Serve immediately, spooned over the hot chips. Enjoy!

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