Every year M and I host a Six Nations England – Scotland watching party. It’s always great fun and the crowd varies from people who are REALLY into rugby and those who are there for the banter, the food and the drinks. And as most sporting events go, I always think that having the right food is really important. Not least because lining our stomachs seems to be a sensible thing to do… Outside of the standard things like wings and dips and such, this year I also put out these delicious and super easy chips with a cheese dip. They will make a perfect nibble at any party and will go down well with everyone.

I’ve changed the quantities a little from the original BBC Good Food recipe and we had lots of the dip left at the end even with the bigger quantity of chips that I made!

More in Party Food: Bloody Mary Prawn Shots; Sweet potato wedges with garlic and herb dressing.

Chips & Cheese Dip

Serves 8 | Prep 10 mins | Cook 30 mins
Easy | Vegetarian

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You’ll need:

  • 1kg frozen chips or skinny French fries;
  • 25g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated;
  • ½ tsp garlic salt

For the dip

  • 25g plain flour;
  • 1 tsp English mustard powder;
  • 300ml milk;
  • 140g mature cheddar, grated;
  • a few snipped chives.

To make the dip, heat the flour, mustard powder and a couple of tbsps of the milk in a small saucepan and gently cook, whisking constantly, until smooth. Continue to add the milk a little at a time and whisking constantly. Carry on bubbling and stirring until thickened. Turn off the heat, stir in the cheese until melted, then season to taste. Scrape into a microwave-proof bowl and put some cling film directly on the surface.

Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Spread the chips on 1-2 big baking trays and cook for 10 mins, then scatter over the Parmesan and garlic salt – use tongs to toss and coat all the chips in the cheese, then carry on baking for the remainder of the cooking time as per -cooking instructions – until golden and crisp – if the chips aren’t crispy enough, increase oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9 for a few mins.

Gently reheat the dip in the microwave until warm, stir in the chives and serve with the hot chips.

Original recipe from BBC Good Food magazine, issue May 2013, available online here.