Potatoes are just about my favourite thing to eat. They have been a comfort and solace for me through good times and bad. Whether it’s my Irish heritage, my unashamed love of stodge or simply because they are such a willing vehicle for butter, my love for potatoes shows no sign of faltering. In fact, one night not so long ago, when I was six months pregnant, I found myself wondering if it was OK to have mash and chips together. I stuck with just the mash.
The crispy-edged golden brown crunch of a roastie; cloud-like mash; a little new potato, boiled and tossed with grassy green herbs, good oil and flaky salt … potatoes are pretty magical in all their forms. But today’s recipes take baked potatoes – that winter household staple – as their theme. These are dinners for cold nights and wet homecomings: bolstering food, full of flavour and comfort.
For the warming potato salad, I bake the potatoes in miso, then slather them in a tomato-spiked dressing until deeply golden brown, before mixing them with lentils and toasted almonds. A complete meal.
The double-baked potato skins, which bring back childhood memories of American diners, are piled with spicy baked chickpeas and a grown-up dip (reminiscent of the sour cream and chive dips of those same diners).
The potato I most often use for baking is a floury King Edward – but Maris Piper, Golden Wonder, Winston or Russet would all work for these recipes. There is no need to buy new potatoes at this time of year; big ones for baking and smaller ones for roasting and salads. Loose potatoes at a greengrocer or supermarket should give you enough options.
My suggestions below offer you my five favourite toppings for salty, crisp-skinned baked potatoes, all of which can be thrown together quickly on a cold, hungry weeknight.
Golden miso roast potato salad (main picture)
Serves 4 as a main or 6 as a side dish
1kg small floury potatoes
2 tsp white miso paste
2 tbsp olive oil
400g cooked puy lentils (1 tin)
100g skin on almonds, toasted and sliced
A handful of basil, leaves picked and roughly torn
For the dressing
Cloves from 1 head of garlic, unpeeled
2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, chopped, plus 2 tbsp of their oil
Juice and zest of a lime
A thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Rinse the potatoes, scrubbing off any gnarly bits, and dry well. Mix together the miso, olive oil and 1 tbsp water. Put the potatoes in a baking tray, add the miso mixture and toss well together. Put the unpeeled cloves of garlic into the tray as well. Roast the potatoes until they are fluffy inside and golden outside: this should take 30‑35 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes.
2 Make your dressing: mix the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil with the lime juice and zest and the ginger, and mix well.
3 Remove the potatoes from the oven and spoon out the garlic cloves. Squeeze the softened cloves of garlic from their papery outsides, mash them and add to the dressing.
4 Tumble the potatoes into a large bowl, add the lentils and the dressing and toss together. Top with the almonds and basil.
Twice-baked potato skins with crispy buffalo chickpeas
I make the dressing by blending cashew nuts into a satisfying cream, but I have also given an option to use yoghurt instead of the cashews, if you’d prefer.
Serves 4
4 large baking potatoes
Olive oil
Salt
1 medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped (reserving the inner leaves)
1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
2 x 400g tins of chickpeas or other white beans (700g cooked chickpeas, if you are cooking your own)
200ml passata or blended tinned tomatoes
A pinch of dried red chilli (I use a generous amount of a mild Turkish one called pul biber)
A small handful of flat-leaf parsley
Salt and black pepper
For the dip
100g cashew nuts, soaked in cold water for about 1 hour, or 150ml greek yoghurt
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
A small bunch of chives
1 Set the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Wash and dry the potatoes, prick with a fork and rub with a little olive oil, then sprinkle over some salt and rub in with your hands. Put the potatoes directly on to a bare rack in the oven. Bake them for around 1-1½ hours, or until the insides have become tender and the skin is crisp.
2 While the potatoes are baking, get on with the chickpeas. Warm a frying pan over a medium heat, add a little olive oil and the onion, then cook for 10 minutes, or until soft.
3 Now add the celery, paprika, cumin and garlic and cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until soft and sticky.
4 Add the chickpeas, passata and chilli and stir again. Season with a little salt and black pepper and cook for another 10 minutes, until the passata has thickened and it has all come together nicely.
5 Meanwhile, make the dip. If you are using the cashews, then drain them and put them into a blender with 5 tbsp cold water and blitz until very smooth, then mix with the other ingredients. If using yoghurt simply mix everything together.
6 Once the potatoes are baked and are cool enough to handle, cut them in half lengthways. Lay the halves on a baking tray. Scoop out a couple of tablespoons from each half, season the inside of the potato with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Save the scooped-out potato for another meal (potato cakes or mashed root veg). Divide the chickpeas between the hollowed out potatoes and bake in the oven for another 10 minutes or so, to allow the chickpeas to crisp a little.
7 Serve each potato topped with the parsley and celery leaves, and alongside the dip for spooning over.
Five baked potato combos
Wash and dry 2 floury potatoes (Maris Piper or King Edward), weighing about 300–400g, then prick, rub with oil and salt, and bake at 220C/425F/gas mark 7 for 1 hour. For 2 potatoes:
- Chop 6 cornichons, ½ a bunch of parsley, 2 tbsp capers, zest of 1 lemon. Mix with 1 tbsp creme fraiche or Greek yoghurt, salt and pepper. Mash into potatoes. Top with rocket.
- Cook 1 large tin of white beans: simmer until tender for 30–60 minutes. Add leaves from a sprig of thyme, a pinch of chilli and salt. Top with beans, grated cheddar, chilli sauce.
- Chop finely ½ a cabbage, ½ bunch of parsley, 1 apple. Grate 1 carrot. Chop 1 red onion, scrunch with juice of ½ a lemon and salt. Mix 1 tbsp yoghurt and juice of ½ a lemon. Pile on to potatoes.
- Cook 1 shredded leek until soft, add greens and wilt, add leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme. Stir in 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard, 2 tbsp grated cheddar. Top with leeks and cheese.
- Cook 1 tbsp mustard seeds with a handful of curry leaves until they pop. Add a handful of spinach and chopped spring onions. Cook for 5 minutes. Add zest of a lemon.
- Anna Jones is a chef, writer and author of A Modern Way to Eat and A Modern Way to Cook (Fourth Estate); annajones.co.uk; @we_are_food
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