Deep-Fried Potato Skins with Melted Raclette Cheese

Ingredients

• 5 Yukon Gold potatoes, ideally about 5 or 6 ounces each
• Vegetable or canola oil, for greasing the potatoes and deep-frying
• Kosher salt
• 8 ounces raclette cheese, cubed
• Thinly sliced cornichons, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pierce the potatoes in several places with a fork or paring knife, then rub them lightly with oil. Place them either on a rack over a baking sheet or right on the oven rack, and bake until they are just tender, 30 to 45 minutes. You can also cook the pricked, oiled potatoes in the microwave until just tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Set the potatoes aside until they are comfortable to handle. Cut each one in half through the middle, then use a small spoon to remove most of the flesh into a medium bowl, keeping roughly 1/8 to 1/4 inch of potato attached to the skin. The layer does not need to be perfectly even; a little variation gives the cups more texture. To help the cups sit flat, trim a thin slice from the bottom of each one. Put the hollowed potato cups aside.
3. With a blender or immersion blender, turn the scooped potato into a loose purée, adding only enough water to make it about as thick as applesauce. You only need enough to give the potato cups a thin coating, so feel free to blend just part of the scooped potato and save the rest for a small batch of mashed potatoes.
4. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. Pour 2 1/2 inches of oil into a 5-quart Dutch oven or a large wok, set it over high heat, and bring the oil to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). In batches, coat each hollowed potato cup with the potato purée, making sure the inside and outside are covered. Let the extra purée drip away, then gently ease the cup into the hot oil. The wet coating will make the oil bubble energetically, so do not crowd the pot.
5. Fry the cups, moving them now and then with a wire mesh spider, until they are only starting to take on a pale golden color, about 1 minute. Move them to the prepared baking sheet and place each one upside down, hollow side facing the towels, so it can drain well. Continue coating and frying the remaining potato cups. Use a fine-mesh strainer to lift out any loose fried bits of purée from the oil, then discard them.
6. Just before serving, bring the oil in the Dutch oven or wok back to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Fry the potato cups again in batches, nudging them around with the wire mesh spider, until they are crisp and a deep golden brown inside and out, about 3 minutes. Transfer them to clean paper towels, salt them all over, and flip them hollow side down so they drain completely.
7. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set the potato cups on top, hollow side up. If you skipped trimming the bottoms, crumple the foil a bit around each base to help the cups stay steady. Pack each cup with as many cheese cubes as it will hold. Slide the cups back into the 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven and warm them until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Finish with sliced cornichons and serve.