Baked Potato Skins with Samosa Stuffing

Here's another dish made with left-over, or pre-baked if you prefer that term, vegetables. In this case it's potatoes. These are much simpler than real samosas; very easy to put together. I used a slightly heavy hand with the butter and did not regret it... after all, there's no pastry. So yummy! Everybody liked these a lot.

4 servings
1 hour to bake the potatoes
1 hour - 15 minutes prep time - to bake the second time

Bake the Potatoes:
4 medium-large baking (Russet) potatoes

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash the potatoes, poke them a couple of times with a fork, and bake them until soft but still with structural integrity. This will likely take about an hour and can be done a day in advance. 

Mix the Spices:
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon fennel seed
3 pods green cardamom
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
3/4 teaspoon salt

Toast the cumin, coriander, and fennel lightly in a dry skillet. Let them cool and grind them with the cardamom. (Remove the green papery husks once they are broken.) Mix the ground spices with the cayenne, turmeric and salt in a small dish. Set aside. 

Finish the Potatoes:
3 large shallots
1 teaspoon peeled, minced ginger
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup frozen peas

Peel the shallots and chop them finely. Peel and mince the ginger and the garlic.

Cut the cooled potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh with a thin, sharpish spoon to within a quarter of an inch of the skins. Arrange the skins in a single layer in a snug baking dish.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Heat the butter in a large skillet, and cook the shallots in it gently until softened. Add the spices once they have cooked for a minute or two. While they cook, chop the scooped out potato flesh into smallish dice. Once it is chopped, add it to the pan with the shallots, and continue cooking, stirring frequently. Once the potatoes are hot through and slightly cooked down, add the garlic and ginger and mix in well; cook for another minute or two.

Turn off the heat and mix in the peas. Divide the potato mixture evenly between the prepared potato skins, mounding up a little to get it all in. Bake the potato skins for about 45 minutes, until hot through.




Last year at this time I made Beet, Carrot, & Pineapple Salad.

Posted in: Ontario Food