Food You Can Eat: Another Stuffed Baked Potato Recipe

I made two versions of this potato yesterday, adapted from a recipe in Ottolenghi Simple. It is super-duper easy, and you can play with the ingredients. I am taking the liberty of sharing this recipe because it’s different than the classic bacon/cheese/broccoli versions that abound.

Bake 2 -6 large russet or baking potatoes, at 450 degrees for around 60 minutes. You know your oven’s temperature quirks, so adjust as needed – the potatoes should be baked to fluffiness.

For every TWO potatoes you will need:

• 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 ½ ounces cheese*
• Salt and pepper
• 7 oz baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons toasted nut halves*

Slice the baked potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Mash with 1 tablespoon of the butter, the cream, the cheese, and then salt and pepper to taste. *A note about the cheese: I made two versions, one with feta for the blue cheese averse and one with Gorgonzola (the cheap blue cheese they carry in the supermarket). Really, any cheese works.

Now for a fun trick which was news to me; divide the remaining ½ tablespoon of butter within the potato shells and bake them in the oven for 6-8 minutes until the edges are crispy. This makes them strong and stable to hold the stuffing.

Meanwhile, blanch/wilt the spinach for less than a minute in boiling salted water. Thoroughly squeeze out the water and add to the potato mixture. At this point feel free to mix whatever else you wish – I added minced garlic.

Heap the potato mixture into the shells. I find that for every two potatoes/four shells I am able to fill three shells. This feels counter-intuitive to me, because we are adding to the volume of the potato flesh, but you really want to mound the skins full. Sprinkle with the toasted nuts* and bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. *I used walnuts; any nut will do. Bacon will do. Crushed corn chips work. You just want a little crunch on top.