The variations here are limitless. Top these little potatoes with chili, caviar, taco meat, shredded chicken, grilled vegetables, chutney…the list goes on. I have baked the shells the night before then reheated them gently before topping with cheese and broiling. I prefer them warm but room temperature works, too. Use more- or less- cheese and toppings, just make sure to keep them finely chopped, in keeping with the small scale of the potatoes.
24 small (uniformly sized) redskin potatoes, pierced a couple times with a fork
Olive oil or olive oil spray
Salt and pepper
1 cup sharp cheddar, finely grated (or 1 cup blue cheese, finely crumbled)
Sour cream
6 strips bacon, cooked and finely crumbled
4 green onions, very thinly sliced
Heat oven to 375°F.
Working in batches, microwave potatoes a minute or two until just slightly softened.
When cool enough to handle, cut each in half. Cut a small slice off the bottom of each to prevent the potatoes from tipping,
Use a melon baller to remove the center of each potato, leaving about a 1/4-inch border.
Spray (or brush) a baking sheet with olive oil. Place shells, cut side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Spray (or brush) with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Divide cheese between potatoes; broil until bubbly and melted, about 1-1/2 minutes.
Top each potato shell with a dollop of sour cream, bacon and green onion slices. Sprinkle with a bit more black pepper. Serve.
Roasted “Mushroom” Potatoes
Serves 6
2 1/2 pounds red-skinned new potatoes, scrubbed and patted dry
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Insert a small (1-inch) round cutter into on end of a potato. With the cutter still in the potato, cut up to the cutter with a small sharp knife. Twist the knife around the potato. Remove the cutter and the piece of potato from the cutter end. You’ll be left with a potato “mushroom” and the “o-shaped” piece of potato you’ve removed. Save the trimmings to use for another purpose, or roast them separately from the mushroom potatoes.
In a rimmed baking sheet, toss prepared potatoes with olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast until potatoes are golden brown and tender, about 40 minutes.
