What do you do when you love broccoli-cheddar soup and you love baked potatoes (so much that it hurts)?! You combine them into one filling, luscious baked potato that can be served as a side dish or vegetarian main dish.
Remember those baked potatoes that were trying to steal the spotlight from these steaks I posted awhile back? Well, it was this perfectly fluffy, crisp-skinned baked potato is stuffed with a creamy broccoli-cheese sauce. This was my first rendition, which I wasn’t super happy with, including the fried shallots above. I went back to the drawing board and made a few adjustments, which leads us to this recipe.
It does take a little time to put this recipe together-the potatoes will need about an hour to bake, but in the meantime, you can prepare the blanched broccoli and cheese sauce. The sauce starts with a basic roux of butter and flour, then whisk in whole milk. Once thickened, whisk in some crème fraîche (or sour cream) and the cheddar and pepper Jack cheeses. I think the crème fraîche is crucial to this recipe because it adds some tang to the rich sauce, and all baked potatoes are well-served by sour cream. Stir the blanched broccoli and season with cayenne, salt and pepper! I like to mash a little butter into the baked potatoes before adding the broccoli-cheese sauce so the flesh doesn’t dry out.
Now, on to how to make the perfect, fluffiest baked potatoes with well-seasoned, crisp skin…
Ever wonder how restaurants and steakhouses get those beautiful baked potatoes? Well, I set out to find out. I used a Cooks’ Illustrated recipe and was shocked with the results! I’m not against throwing a few potatoes in the microwave for a quick side dish or dinner, but the difference between spending the time to bake the potatoes versus microwaving is a revelation.
Here’s how to do it:
- Mix a salt-water solution and place the potatoes in to season the skins and help begin to dry out the potato skin.
- Baking in a very hot oven helps get the potato to the ideal internal temperature (205°) while keeping the interior fluffy and the skin crisp.
- Transfer to the oven to bake for 50 to 65 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of the potatoes.
- After the potato is tender, lightly coat with vegetable oil and return to the oven for 10 minutes. This will fully crisp the skin!
- Cut an ‘X’ in the top and gently squeeze the sides to open the potato. This is what restaurants do and it helps hold the filling inside!
[tasty-recipe id=”35103″]
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