Let Me Suggest Flip Chips and Dip

This past weekend was very social. I met up with my friends from the gym for lunch and then went to one of Portland’s busiest grocers (Providore) to pick up snacks for my next event. My original plan was to make Russian nachos with regular potato chips, caviar and sour cream, but there was no caviar. I had to adapt so I reached for the fragrant chips but left the crème fraîche to make upside down chips and sauce.

Usually, when one pairs chips with sauce, the configuration is simple chips like salted potatoes or flatbread served with a flavorful sauce like queso, caramelized onion, or even something else like caramelized pickle . This is done to avoid conflict of tastes, so the dip and chips don’t compete with each other. The chips add texture and structure, while the dip adds creaminess. This is a great relationship.

But I didn’t want my Iberian ham chips to compete with caramelized onions. The taste was just too perfect. I don’t know how the scientists at Torres managed to capture the taste of “aged fat”, but they did it, and it’s incredible. Fried egg chips are also supernatural. Instead of hiding their respective fires under a bushel of salty sauce, I decided to invert the classic chips and sauces formula and dunk them in a gentle crème fraîche that adds luxurious creaminess without competing with chips.

But you don’t have to buy fancy chips with weird flavors to enjoy upside down chips and sauce. Try Dorito in plain sour cream, or zaatar-flavoured pita chips in unflavoured labna. Sour cream is especially welcome on hot chips, as it softens the heat and allows you to eat more hot chips. When in doubt, crème fraîche always works; it’s so elegantly modest. (Did I also dip both chips in some cheese and pepper? Yes, but that’s only because I wanted ham, egg, and cheese. My madness always has a method.)