Words by Yeong Sassal, Vogue Living
It’s hard not to love the humble potato. The vegetable might be occasionally overlooked in favour of its more trendy cousin (pumpkin, we're looking at you), but there’s few vegetables that are as versatile and dependable as the potato. And when it comes to combining it with certain ingredients, it has many preferred partners, one of which is sour cream, spring onions, and cheese. With this magic combination making up the crux of this simple recipe taken from a new book, The Food of Argentina: Asado, empanadas, dulce de leche and more, we can guarantee people will be lining up for seconds.
Stuffed potatoes with cream cheese and spring onion
Serves 4
4 large potatoes
1 tablespoon pouring (single/light) cream
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced, plus extra to garnish
50 g (1¾ oz) coarsely grated provolone
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and set aside for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are completely tender. Drain well and rinse under cold water.
Cut about 5 mm (¼ in) off the length of each potato, so they sit flat on a work surface. Cut about 1 cm (½ in) off the opposite ends, then scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the flesh. Put the scooped-out potato in a bowl and roughly mash with a fork, then add the cream, garlic, spring onion and provolone, and season well with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the potatoes, then set aside or refrigerate until needed. These can be made a day in advance.
Preheat a barbecue hotplate to medium. Wrap the potatoes in foil and place, stuffed side up, on the hotplate. Cover with the lid or a large baking dish and cook for 20 minutes, until heated through and the bottoms are crisp and golden.
Scatter a little extra spring onion over the top and serve hot.
Author’s note: Potatoes slow-cooked in foil are a ubiquitous, although worthy, item at any good barbecue. This version takes the humble spud to another level. Make sure you set aside enough time to cook the potatoes until they are fork-tender – you should never need a knife to cut a spud! These potatoes are par-cooked before being wrapped in foil and finished off on the barbecue.
This is an extract from The Food of Argentina: Asado, empanadas, dulce de leche and more by Ross Dobson and Rachel Tolosa Paz (Smith Street Books).
Feature Image: Rachel Tolosa Paz; Food styling: Vanessa Austin
