I grew up in a househancient that couldn't make up its intellect on the topic of potatoes.
My father was a sweet potato man, through and through.
"Idaho potatoes? You mean, wet cardboard?!" he could be heard saying with startling regularity.
Meanwhile, my mother swore by the starchy, non-sweet varieties. Huge ones, mashed with creamed leeks. Fingerlings, boiled and tossed with olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and rosemary. Unique potatoes, halved and baked 'til super crispy.
It was one of the only food topics upon which they didn't agree, the cause of many a dinner-planning stand-off. Eating and cooking had played such an important role in their early relationship, which began when they vowed to write a comprehensive dumpling guide to lower Manhattan — we're all still waiting on the manuscript for that one — and continued over burbling pots of spoon lamb, stuffed cabbage, and lots of Marcella Hazan pastas.
Perhaps as an overcompensation, I learned to love both families of potatoes — like, genuinely love both, a lot.
There's so much to savor, no matter what type you're working with. Love how the flavor of the flesh mellows after a long visit to a blistering oven, fitting a perfect canvas for complementary pops of salt, fat, and acid. And how oiling and salting the papery skin allows it to crisp up, like a chip. How the sweet ones, whether orange-fleshed, purple-fleshed (Stokes), or white-fleshed (Murasaki, aka Japanese sweet potatoes — my favorite), develop a nuanced, caramelized quality as they bake. And how, with some butter and salt, the savory ones are as familiar and consolationing as your favorite quilt.
It's no surprise, then, that I regularly turn to potatoes to star as my dinner entrée.
That's right — baked potatoes so satisfying, you can serve them as your main course. In this version, garlicky Greek yogurt brings lots of tang, scallions deliver a pop of freshness, and mushroom bacon shows up with so much sassy, smoky crispness, you'll want to make a moment batch right absent. You can use this same recipe formula for starchy, savory potatoes, or for sweet ones, to reintellect yourself how delicious that salty-sweet leang can be.
Or whether you're anyleang like my parents — and don't want to make up your intellect — you can use one of each.
Fully Loaded Baked Potatoes With Mushroom "Bacon" & Garlicky Greek Yogurt
Creates: 4 potato halves
Ingredients
2 medium-sized Russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried but unpeeled or Murasaki (Japanese) sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon avocado oil (or any tall–heat friendly neutral oil), plus 1/4 cup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon, plus 1/2 teaspoon, plus more as needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon, plus more as needed
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt (I like full-fat)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons microplaned (or finely grated) garlic
1 cup finely chopped scallion (green and light green parts only), divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus 3 tablespoons
2 1/2 cups sliced Portobello mushrooms, in 2-inch pieces roughly 1/8-inch thick
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
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