Twice-Baked Potatoes with Beets--A Harajuku Feast?
Despite the naughty beet naysayers out there (you know who you are
and shame on you) I made the last beet recipe I intended for Beet Week. I welcome constructive criticism from anyone who actually tries one of these recipes and finds it displeasing. Bring it on--but prove you tried it.
Last night my older son exclaimed with delight, "Purple potatoes! Yay!" while my younger one said, "I wan bite dat tato." Let me tell you it feels SO GOOD to fill children with healthy food. Besides having the
children, taking good care of them tops the list of lifetime achievements. Feeding them well contributes mightily to the feeling of success. A twice-baked potato is a veritable boat of goodness sailing right into their tummies. With lots of yummy butter and sour cream, you can mix in just about any healthy veggie and it will go well. I went with the classic trio of ham, broccoli, and cheddar. In addition to using beets for their nutritional value, I used them to show how fun the color is. Chopped broccoli mixed in makes a very preppy potato for your next theme party. Grated orange cheddar on top makes for a technicolor delight, or a happy harajuku feast.
Ingredients:
4 or 5 large baking potatoes
salt
pepper
milk
1 stick of butter
1 8-ounce tub of sour cream
2 thick slices of cooked breakfast ham, cubed (I use Wellshire Farms Sunday Breakfast Ham)
2 handfuls of broccoli florets with some stem, chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup roasted, pureed purple beet
grated cheddar for topping
Directions:
1. Bake potatoes for an hour or so in a 400-degree oven.
2. When potatoes are done, cut butter into pieces and put in large mixing bowl.
3. Halve potatoes and scrape out the middles, putting the hot potatoes in the bowl with butter.
4. Stir and mash potatoes and melted butter together, adding salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add sour cream and beets and stir together.
6. Add chopped broccoli and cubed ham, stirring together.
7. Add milk to thin the mixture and achieve your desired texture. Taste now, because it won't change during cooking. Get the spices/flavor correct now.
8. Fill each skin with potato mixture and top with grated cheese.
9. Cook in oven until warm all the way through and cheese melts, about 20 minutes.
--Sweet B
HopeSew on October 16, 2008 at 08:51 PM
OK, so I'd like to try this recipe, but how do you roast the beets?
Sweet B on October 21, 2008 at 07:58 AM
Yay HopeSew! You'll be amazed at how the beets add color and nutrition, but take nothing away from the potato taste. Roasting veggies is really really easy. To roast the beets: Trim stems down to about an inch. Wrap the whole thing(s) in aluminum foil and roast at 400 degrees for about an hour. I put them on a little sheet pan, but you can put them in the foil right on the rack if you want. Purple juice may leak, or may not. For maximum nutrition, chefs recommend not roasting a veggie until it totally falls apart. Rather, try inserting a knife through it and if it goes through easily, it's done. The skin will slide right off after roasting. When they've cooled, remove skins and discard them (or add them to a compost pile). Throw beets into a food processor to puree them. If need be, add tiny amounts of water to your puree until it becomes as smooth and creamy as you want, but you could leave it chunky, too. It really doesn't matter. The texture is up to you. You could just try mashing them with a fork if you don't have a food processor. Happy Beeting!
Elizabeth on October 27, 2008 at 02:04 PM
Not a beet naysayer (I love beets) but a broccoli naysayer. Don't get me wrong; I love broccoli too. But it has to be al dente - there's nothing worse than over-cooked broccoli...
I'm amazed that the broccoli didn't turn the final result grey. However, without the broccoli, this potato sounds pretty darn good. I'll serve steamed broccoli on the side.
Sweet B on October 27, 2008 at 07:37 PM
Hey Elizabeth, good for you! Hope you like this recipe. Remember you can substitute any good vegetable puree in place of beet puree, too. Let me know what you think up. As for broccoli, I don't pre-cook mine. I cut up the florets and stems very small and the only cook time they get is in the final warm-through process. So they don't overcook. They get done enough because they are cut so small, but they're not chewy or overdone. The beet puree will cover the color of everything, trust me, but when I make these without beets, the broccoli has never yet come out looking grey.
Sweet B on October 27, 2008 at 07:40 PM
Wait, I just re-read that. You meant the broccoli would mix with the other colors and turn the whole thing grey. Nope. I don't think there's any food with a color that can overpower the crimson of a beet.