How I make baked potatoes
Posted by kathryn in Dinners
As we move into autumn I find myself wanting baked potatoes more and more. Potatoes, in their skins (or jackets) cooked in the oven until fluffy and soft in the middle are one of my favourite cooler weather foods.
I see nothing wrong with eating potatoes. Whatever the low-carb enthusiasts tell you, there is nothing inherently wrong with the simple spud.
Eat too many of them and they can stack up the kilojoules. But then that’s true of many foods.
The only problem with baked potatoes, is they tend to be combined with fat, fat, fat and even more fat. It’s common to add butter, sour cream and cheese to jacket potatoes – all of which turns the spud you’re eating into a saturated fat-fest.
While that might be okay occasionally, it’s not something I fancy on a regular basis. So here’s what I do with baked potatoes – to make them a better meal. This is not a recipe, instead it’s guidelines which can be adapted and changed in many, many different ways.
How I cook baked potatoes
- I choose smaller potatoes: Rather than picking one whopping big potato, I tend to cook 2 – 3 smaller ones. They cook more quickly, but I also think they taste better. Plus it means you get more skin – which is where much of the potatoes goodness lies (thanks for the link Elaine).
- Par boil the potato & then finish in the oven: I can’t stand microwaved potatoes. For me one of the best parts of a baked potato is the crispy skin. Which just gets ruined when you microwave. To speed up the process, and reduce the need for the oven, I boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes, until almost cooked through. I then put them in the oven at 200°C for about 20 minutes, to finish off and crisp up.
- I make a vegetable salsa: The bulk of my baked potato topping is a vegetable salsa. To make this I generally chop up a couple of tomatoes and half a small cucumber. But I’ve also been known to use grated beetroot or carrot, chopped English spinach, or even leftover roasted vegetables. If I have any herbs, I’ll also add a handful of them.
- You need some juice: You want your salsa / salad to be quite juicy, as it’s this liquid which softens and flavours the potato flesh – reducing the need for butter. If you’re using tomatoes, this helps with the juice factor. But I’ll also add about a teaspoon each of olive oil and either lemon juice or vinegar. I tend to make the salsa when I start cooking the potatoes, leaving it to marinate during the cooking time.
- You can add extra toppings: For my lunch today I had baked potato with tomato, mint, cucumber and fetta cheese. However, I quite often add extra toppings, depending on what’s in the cupboard: some cooked lentils or chickpeas, a few nuts, capers, a spoon of hummous, some baked beans. You could also add some shredded chicken, a small tin of fish, or a tomato-based pasta sauce.
- Use a smaller amount of cheese: I do like a bit of cheese with my baked potato. However, rather than grating over wedges of yellow cheese, I tend to use smaller amounts of the softer white cheeses. Some fetta, a spoonful of ricotta, or even some cottage cheese, all of which are lower in fat. The fetta also gives a flavour hit, meaning you don’t need to use as much. While the ricotta and cottage cheese tend to melt slightly, giving a lovely creamy texture. I’ve also made Jamie Oliver’s cottage cheese dressing in the past and poured that over the potatoes.
Why is this better?
If you make baked potatoes in this way, rather than smearing with cheese and butter, you are significantly cutting down on both the overall fat content, but most importantly the saturated fat.
By adding in the salsa, you’re getting a good serve of fresh, raw vegetables. You’re also converting a slightly nutritionally pedestrian meal, into one that’s full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and of course flavour.
It makes a delicious, delicious meal. Something you can enjoy regularly, rather than having to leave it as an occasional “treat” only.
How do you eat baked potatoes?
31 March, 2009
Comments
I’ve been spooning on hommous as a topping quite a lot lately. Garlic dip is great too if you aren’t worried about the smell of your breath. For a cheese with a flavour hit I’m finding Shan Kleesh great at the moment. Can you tell I’ve just discovered my local Lebanese supermarket?
I like to pour over a low fat bechamel sauce with broccoli, zucchini and beans added. Or a coleslaw of finely grated onion, carrot and cabbage with a dollop of mayo added. Or, a spoonful of leftover bolognase sauce and a grating of Parmesan cheese. Mmmmm yumm
Kathryn, its my belief that when you add vinegar or lemon juice to a spud it lows its GI rating form med to low. Is this correct?
Arwen – I haven’t had Shan Kleesh before, but I do love a good, tangy Lebanese cheese.
Em – you are right adding vinegar would lower the GI of the whole meal. The sourness slows the breakdown of carbohydrates in the GI tract, therefore reducing the GI. I’ve also added coleslaw-y type combinations before.
I love a dollop of homemade tzatziki – low fat greek style yoghurt mixed with grated cucumber, crushed garlic and herbs like dill.
Much lower in fat than sour cream.
That looks so, so very tasty and it warms my heart to see a level-headed opinion of the humble spud!
This post made me think of this recipe from The Traveller’s Lunchbox since you are a feta fan!
http://www.travelerslunchbox.com/journal/2005/6/9/for-the-sweet-love-of-spud.html
Par boil! Brilliant! I never make baked potatoes because they take so dang long in the oven. This solves my problem. Thanks!
Oh, yes. The moment it gets colder, I want spuds, too. Kathryn, I’m so pleased to read a health professional telling me it’s okay to have potatoes, because my bloke at the market has the most exquisite range of locally grown organic ones. (They’re also very photogenic!)
Such good sense. I tend toward your school of thought, loving babaganoush on mine and loads of spring onions plus some diced tomato.
The smoked beetroot that goes with the cottage cheese dressing…goodness…I think I may need to get myself a barbeque.
Delicious suggestions for topping the humble potato, Kathyrn, for both warm weather and cool weather days. I especially like your salsa suggestions with all the variations. Ooooh, must try the cottage cheese dressing, too. Thank you for this very helpful post.
Christie: natural yoghurt, what a good idea. I don’t think I’ve tried that. I’d still make up a salsa-y type arrangement – just for the little extra vegetables. Lovely suggestion.
Shauna: I am a huuuuuge fetta fan. I’d have it on toast three times a day, if that wasn’t such a bad idea nutritionally speaking. Your link to the sweet potato looks absolutely fantastic. Spicy fetta olive salad – yum. Thank you for that.
No worries Michelle. The par boiling is a new discovery for me. Came from a day when I was on a deadline and had forgotten to turn the oven on!
Lucy: doesn’t the smoked beetroot look marvellous. I remember watching Mr Oliver make it during the Jamie At Home programme and drooling. Go out and buy those locally grown organic potatoes – nothing better at this time of year.
Elaine: thank you. The cottage cheese dressing is great – quite a citrus hit. I’ve found it a useful combination as well – over salads, as well as potatoes.
Hi Kathryn, Thanks for reminding me about baked spuds – it’s a while since I’ve made them, and it was an easy, healthy meal we all liked. And it’s getting to be baked spud weather again.
As an aside, Kathryn, I heard an interview with Suzanne Gibbs about her new book on pressure cooking you might be interested in. In essence, it’s about reintroducing slow food back into time-pressured days. It was sounds so good, I’ve ordered the book and may be in the market for a pressure cooker. I think you can hear a podcast at the Life Matters page on Radio National at www.abc.net.au.
We really enjoyed these when I made them after you tweeted the suggestion a few weeks ago. A fresh take on the jacket spud and an easy way to get in some extra veg.
Similar to your idea of par boiling, I often microwave and then bake the potatoes to crisp up
Leave a comment