Bake
by: Ella Quittner
January30,2019
3.6
10 Ratings
- Prep time 15 minutes
- Cook time 1 hour 40 minutes
- Makes 4 potato halves
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Author Notes
I grew up in a household that couldn't make up its mind on the topic of potatoes. My father was a sweet potato man, through and through. Meanwhile, my mother swore by the starchy, non-sweet varieties. This formula works on regular old white potatoes, and sweeter varieties alike—my favorite version of the latter is with Murasaki sweet potatoes. Or, if you're anything like my parents, you can use one of each. —Ella Quittner
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized Russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried but unpeeled or Murasaki (Japanese) sweet potatoes
- 1 tablespoonavocado oil (or any high–heat friendly neutral oil), plus 1/4 cup
- 1/2 teaspoonkosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon, plus 1/2 teaspoon, plus more as needed
- 1/4 teaspoonfreshly cracked black pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon, plus more as needed
- 1 1/2 cupsGreek yogurt (I like full-fat)
- 1 tablespoonplus 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed
- 2 teaspoonsmicroplaned (or finely grated) garlic
- 1 cupfinely chopped scallion (green and light green parts only), divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup
- 1/2 cupgrated Parmesan, plus 3 tablespoons
- 2 1/2 cupssliced Portobello mushrooms, in 2-inch pieces roughly 1/8-inch thick
- 1/4 teaspoonCayenne pepper
Directions
- Heat oven to 475°F. Poke potatoes all over with a fork. Rub the skins with 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 45 to 50 minutes (for sweet potatoes, check after 40 minutes), until skins are crispy and you can insert a knife into the center with very little resistance beyond the skin. You can do this a few hours in advance, and just let them sit out at room temperature until you’re ready to proceed.
- While the potatoes are baking, prepare the garlicky Greek yogurt and the mushroom bacon. For the yogurt, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt with 1 teaspoon salt, lemon juice, and garlic. Taste, and adjust seasoning accordingly with more salt and/or lemon juice. Reserve 1/4 cup of the garlicky Greek yogurt for garnish—leave the rest in the large mixing bowl for use when the potatoes come out of the oven.
- Prep the mushroom bacon. On a rimmed sheet pan, toss the mushrooms with 1/4 cup oil (they’ll absorb it). Sprinkle over the mushrooms: 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper. Toss until evenly coated. Spread out so they’re not touching one another, otherwise, they’ll steam.
- Once the potatoes are ready to come out, remove from oven and turn the oven temperature down to 375°F. After 10 minutes or so, add the sheet pan of mushrooms. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in total, flipping once midway through, until they’re crispy and browned with just the slightest spot of chewiness remaining in the center. (You’re going to end up adding the potatoes back into the oven with the mushrooms, too, so leave them shelf space.)
- Let the potatoes cool a couple minutes, until you can handle them. Cut each in half lengthwise, and scoop out most of the softened flesh, leaving about 1/4-inch around the inner peels, and transfer to the large mixing bowl of garlicky Greek yogurt. (Note: if you're using one sweet and one savory potato, do this step in separate bowls to keep them separate with half of the other ingredients, each.) Leave the potato skins on the cooking sheet. Add 3/4 cup chopped scallions and 1/2 cup Parmesan to the bowl. Mix the potato flesh with the yogurt, scallions, and Parmesan until everything is smooth and combined. Taste and add additional salt, if needed to make the flavors pop. Spoon the mashed potato mixture back into the potato skins, sprinkle the tops with remaining Parmesan, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (along with the mushroom bacon), until cheese on top of potatoes is fully melted and bubbling.
- The potatoes and mushroom bacon should finish cooking around roughly the same time. Remove each from oven when done. For the best mix of final textures, put the potatoes under the broiler for 1 minute, until the cheese is dotted with brown spots. To serve, top each potato half with a generous dollop of reserved garlicky Greek yogurt, some of the mushroom bacon (break it up with your hands if the pieces are too large), and a sprinkling of chopped scallion.
Tags:
- American
- Parmesan
- Sweet Potato/Yam
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Mushroom
- Potato
- Weeknight Cooking
- Bake
- Sunday Dinner
- Super Bowl
- Weekend Cooking
See what other Food52ers are saying.
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Vicky Maldonado
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Ella Quittner
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Patricia Schroer
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Nancy
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6 Reviews
Vicky M. December 6, 2019
I thought this was tasty, a little too much work though. I will however save this method of cooking mushrooms to taste like bacon, that worked well and I enjoyed the texture.
Patricia S. February 17, 2019
I am fascinated by this mushroom "bacon." As a lover of mushrooms, I can't wait to try it!
Ella Q. February 17, 2019
Thanks for the note! I hope you enjoy it.
Nancy February 7, 2019
As some of the comments in the Hotline suggest, the title is confusing,
And the picture looked like bacon.
For those of us who don't eat bacon or meat, in future, please use typography to help us identify the good imposter (mushroom-bacon, "mushroom bacon").
And/or flag it in the headnote and tags (that is, add a vegetarian tag).
Ella Q. February 7, 2019
Hi Nancy!
Thanks for your feedback—I've added quotation marks around "bacon" in the recipe title to help clarify. The recipe is already tagged as vegetarian, so it should pop up if you search our recipe index for "baked potato" and select for vegetarian recipes using the "Special Consideration" filter on the left-hand side of the window. I hope this helps, and thanks again for reaching out :)
Ella
Nancy February 7, 2019
Ella - good on the air-quotes bacon in title. Maybe the recipe comes up in a search after 2 terms, including vegetarian.
What I meant by tag is the stuff the recipe writer adds at the bottom of the recipe. This one has "american" for cuisine, various ingredients and occasions (sunday dinner, back to school) to no "vegetarian."
