We often hear of people whipping meals together with “whatever was is the fridge.” I always think, How can anyone make a meal with honey mustard, a flaccid carrot and a box of baking soda? But then I remember the baked potato. We usually have potatoes around, don’t we? In a pinch, just melted butter, sea salt and fresh ground pepper make a yummy one-dish meal.
Recipe: Easy Baked Potato
Use the same steps for as many potatoes as you need to prepare.
Ingredients
Baking potatoes (starchy potatoes, like Russetts)
Olive oil or other vegetable oil
Toppings of your choice: butter, chili, ground beef, cheese or chopped tomato
The thing is, you can top potatoes with almost anything: bacon, cheese, chili, diced tomato, chives, shredded chicken... really, whatever you can think of. Potatoes are easy and fast — perfect as a one-dish meal for movie night. You can turn dinner into a savoury version of “make your own sundae” by putting various toppings into little dishes. The kids can have fun by dressing their own spuds.
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Take your potatoes (look for baking potatoes, like Russetts) and give them a good scrub.
Dry the potatoes well — you want the oil to stay on the skin.
To keep the transfer of the oil to the potatoes mess-free, just put some olive oil (or vegetable oil) on a clean paper towel and rub the potatoes all over. Before you put the potatoes in the oven, pierce them a few times with a fork (this allows the steam to release) then just pop them onto a cookie sheet. Do not wrap the potatoes in foil — leaving them free will allow the skin to crisp better. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the potato is tender when pieced with a fork.
Let the potatoes sit and cook slightly, then slice open the top, add your garnishes and dig in! (Isn’t it nice to skip pizza for once?) Perhaps best of all: clean-up is minimal. Enjoy!
Recipe: Easy Baked Potato
Use the same steps for as many potatoes as you need to prepare.
Ingredients
Baking potatoes (starchy potatoes, like Russetts)
Olive oil or other vegetable oil
Toppings of your choice: butter, chili, ground beef, cheese or chopped tomato
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Scrub and dry your potatoes thoroughly.
- Rub them with oil; put the oil on a paper towel and rub onto the potatoes to avoid a mess. Pierce the potatoes with a fork a few times.
- Bake on a cookie sheet for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Cool slightly so potatoes are safe to handle. Slice down the middle and garnish.
Sue Riedl is a Toronto-based food writer with a passion for cheese who writes a column called The Spread for The Globe and Mail. She loves to push stinky cheese on her 4-year-old.
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by Sue Riedl