Twice Baked Potatoes:
{A disclaimer my loyal readers: I know these do not fall under my usual requirement of 20 minutes or less. But, they are so very good, hearty and filling that it’s worth it, I promise. Plus, this recipe makes a big batch at one time, so there is less cooking to do for the rest of the week.}
Oh potatoes.
Contrary to many diets, potatoes are actually a very healthy, old world, real food. Potatoes will not make you fat because of their “starch” content and high “carbs”. That would be the chocolate, alcohol, and diet coke you’re drinking, not the potatoes, trust me.
Potatoes are filling, warm, and relatively easy to prepare. Plus, they are one of my favorite foods. That’s enough of a reason, don’t you think?
Most Twice Baked Potato recipes are usually loaded down with lots of ingredients, but I have found that you really don’t need that much (or any) butter, sour cream and cheese to make them taste good. I added some chopped kale to get some healthy greens in there, and mashed the potatoes with olive oil instead of their creamier counterparts. Chives add a punch of flavor without a lot of heaviness, as does a healthy dose of pepper in my version below.
Ingredients for Sarah’s Healthy Twice Baked Potatoes:
4 Russet Potatoes
1 head Green Kale
6 TB Olive Oil
20 stalks of fresh chives
Beecher’s Flagship Cheese (optional)
sea salt, pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry the potatoes. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place the potatoes on top. Rub each potato with a small bit of olive oil and poke a few holes in it with a fork. When oven is ready, place inside to bake for an hour.
2. Wash and de-stem the kale. Tear into small bite sized pieces and place in a large saucepan with a dollop of olive oil on the bottom. Cook on medium heat (5-6) until the kale softens and reduces in size. Set aside in a large bowl:
3. Wash 20 stalks of chives (or more if you prefer). Cut off the bottom ends and discard. Starting from the bottom, finely slice until you get halfway up the stalk. Set aside:
4. {Side tip}: With a timer on the potatoes you can do some laundry, clean the kitchen, etc while your potatoes finish up. You don’t need to watch them cook. Just because you have a long recipe doesn’t mean you can’t be efficient with other things.
5. Remove the potatoes from the oven when you can easily poke through the skin with a fork and let cool for a few minutes. Bump oven temperature down to 350. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise when they are cool enough to handle.
6. Carefully start scooping out the insides of the potato, being sure to leave a few centimeters to help keep the structure, and add into the bowl with kale:
7. Add the olive oil (or more if you’d like) to the potato and kale mixture. Mash all the ingredients together and add a few dashes of sea salt and generous amounts of pepper.
8. Add the potato stuffing to the shells:
9. Sprinkle with the chopped chives and grated Beecher’s cheese (optional but I definitely recommend it).
10. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts. Turn on the broiler on high heat and broil for the last 5 minutes until the tops turn a bit brown.
Serve as part of a meal, or one in itself. Other options for add ins are butter, ground meat, or sautéed mushrooms. Or try the same recipe with sweet potatoes or yams, mixed with olive oil or coconut oil, cinnamon, and sea salt. Coconut flakes make a great topping on this sweeter version as well.