Padma Lakshmi's Spicy Potato Chip Dip Will Become Your Next Snacking Habit - Exclusive
Late-night snackers, rejoice. Padma Lakshmi is here for you in the only way it counts: with the answer to your rumbling stomach. On "Top Chef," Lakshmi may have delighted in the show-stopping creations of Stephanie Izard, Michael Voltaggio, Richard Blais, and Kristen Kish. She has a stomach for fine food, to be sure. Lakshmi once jetted to Copenhagen with billionaire Teddy Forstmann to eat at Rene Redzepi's art-verging-on-food. She described the experience in her memoir: "each dish at Noma disorients gloriously."
That doesn't mean that Lakshmi's always looking for the exorbitant. While at home, you'll find the Emmy-nominated producer, making Chow Chow Curry, grilled cheese (with butter, not mayo, for all you snoops), and elevated BLTs with candied salty-sweet honey mustard bacon. Relatable, right?
As it turns out, "US Weekly's" famously overdone adage, "Stars, they're just like us!" is, perhaps, truest at home, late at night when the magazine's photographers couldn't get a photo op for the life of them. At least that's when Lakshmi makes a potato chip dip that we can't get enough of.
Padma Lakshmi's cheesy potato chip dip snack habit
To make this dip, you'll need yogurt, hot sauce, optional French chilies, and Boursin — Lakshmi happens to be Maison Boursin's host in residence, but she promised us that she does like and eat the cheese. It's "one thing that I've always done — it's a little weird, but I like it, and it's a snack that I use," Lakshmi told Tasting Table in a recent exclusive interview. "It's not just because we're doing this interview."
Fair warning: you'll need a little forethought to eat this late at night. "I take the Boursin out and let it get to room temperature so it's super soft," Lakshmi explained. "I mix a little bit of yogurt into it in a bowl, so it's even more creamy. Then I put hot sauce — Tapatío hot sauce or any hot sauce. I swirl that and use that as a dip for my potato chips. That's a snack that I love."
If you're not in a hurry to snack, or if you're feeling particularly energetic, you can elevate the dip by adding "French chilies that are chopped in" — take them or leave them. What occasion is this snack good for? It's probably delicious anytime, but Lakshmi told Tasting Table, "Usually, it's something I do super quick late at night when we're watching movies on the weekend," Padma explained. "It's a great snack and I love it."
Visit Boursin.com/Maison for Padma's exclusive holiday entertaining guide, where you'll find gifting inspiration, hosting tips, and delicious recipes to make the art of entertaining easy, elevated, and, above all, enjoyable for every occasion.