Thursday, December 15, 2011

The humble jacket potato

When I studied abroad in London, I became very familiar with the jacket potato. They were on many menus throughout the city and fit my student budget. The jacket potato is the British version of a dressed up baked potato, plus it has a nicer ring to it. They stuff the humble potato with a variety of fun toppings—not just the typical butter, cheese, and chives combo—and turn it into a meal.

So yesterday when I was looking around the kitchen to see what I had to make for lunch, I spied a purple potato begging to be stuffed. I had a big bushel of collards in the crisper to use for filling and a carrot-ginger dressing to add a punch of flavor and color. You could really fill your potato with just about anything.

This impromptu lunch might be my new favorite. And look at all that color! The purple of the potato to the green of the collards to the orange of the dressing. The rainbow of color means it's packed with a variety of good-for-you antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. I also sprinkled some sunflower seeds over the top for that much-needed crunch. Also this dish happens to be dairy- and gluten-free.
Bake a purple or regular ol' sweet potato at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size. While the potato is cooking prep the collards and make the dressing below.

Garlicky collards
3 large collard leaves, destemmed, cut into bite size pieces (3-4 cups)
1 T olive oil
1 shallot, diced
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/4 c vegetable broth
dash of salt

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot to the oil, cooking until translucent. Then add the garlic and chili flakes, cooking until fragrant. Add the collards and vegetable broth to the pan. Bring the pan to a simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The greens will turn bright green and the broth will have reduced.

Carrot-ginger dressing
4 medium carrots, grated
3 T ginger, minced
1 shallot, diced
1.5 tsp tamari
2 T rice vinegar
1/4 tsp curry powder
2 tsp miso
3 T sesame oil
2 T avocado (or olive) oil
3 T water or more to thin out

Add the carrots, ginger, shallot, tamari, rice vinegar, curry powder, and miso to a food processor. Blend on high for a few minutes. While the processor is running, add the oil and water.

When the potato is done, slice it open and stuff with collards, a drizzle of carrot-ginger dressing and a garnish of sunflower seeds. You should have enough filling to stuff 4 medium potatoes.

8 comments:

Jin said...

wow, this looks delicious!!! I can't wait to to try it!!!

xoxo

Jin

jacqui said...

Totally my kind of lunch! This looks delicious! And I love the name too : )

Rebecca said...

You always make the most ordinary food look yummy.

Do the purple potatoes taste different?

Unknown said...

Thanks everyone!

Rebecca - They taste sweeter than a regular potato, not too sweet, but different than a sweet potato. They get their color from anthocyanin, the same phytonutrient that colors blueberries. A quick google search tells me they're originally from South America :)

sara said...

oh good heavens! I love all of these things on their own, so don't see why i wouldn't love them together! I am currently obsessed with carrot miso dressing. Certainly a favorite around here so will have to try your version!

Maria said...

I love the flavours you've used, this sounds so tasty! Hope you have a lovely Christmas and I wish you a beautiful, healthy new year ahead! x

Unknown said...

Thanks Maria! Merry Christmas to you :)

Mike said...

I love baked potatoes. Baked potatoes taste so good with butter. On my god I'm in heaven when I have that.