Ina Garten’s Baked Potatoes: My Husband Says They’re The Greatest He’s Ever Had

Nancy Mock For Style of Dwelling

Baked potatoes are a straightforward aspect dish or a lightweight meal—however that doesn’t imply they should be ho-hum! And nobody is aware of higher than the Barefoot Contessa herself about learn how to take on a regular basis favorites and put together them in a manner that’s further particular and further flavorful.

Her baked potatoes have splendidly crispy outsides seasoned with rosemary and thyme. She tops them with a straightforward, tangy whipped feta cheese mix that simply melts into the tender insides of those potatoes. Paired with Ina’s beef tenderloin, what could possibly be higher than that?

What makes Ina’s baked potatoes completely different?

Ina has two strategies that basically make these baked potatoes stand out. The primary is that she coats the complete potato with a mix of salt, zest and herbs to provide the spuds an enormous increase of taste. The second is she bakes her potatoes with none foil; the direct warmth of the oven crisps up the oil and herb-coated potato skins whereas the insides develop into fluffy and tender.

Potatoes as flavorful as these deserve extra than simply the same old pat of butter or spoonful of bitter cream—that’s why Ina tops them with a wealthy whipped feta topping made with lemon juice and olive oil. The result’s a baked potato that’s extremely indulgent, one which had my husband and me racing for seconds.

Tips on how to Make Ina Garten’s Baked Potatoes

Ina’s recipe makes 4 servings, one potato per serving. Plan for about an hour and quarter-hour complete of prep and baking time.

Components

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• 1 tablespoon chopped recent rosemary
• 2 teaspoons recent thyme leaves
• Grated zest of 1 giant lemon
• 1 tablespoon coarse fleur de sel or sea salt
• 4 giant Idaho baking potatoes (about 8 to 10 ounces every)
• Good olive oil
• Chopped recent chives or scallion greens

Whipped Feta:

• 6 ounces Greek feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/3 cup good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Step 1: Make the herb combination

Preheat the oven to 400°F, and line a baking sheet with foil. Place the chopped rosemary, thyme leaves, lemon zest and fleur de sel within the bowl of a mini meals processor. In case you don’t have a small meals processor, you should utilize a blender for this step. Pulse the processor till the substances are finely minced. Unfold the combination on a shallow plate.

Step 2: Put together the potatoes

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Scrub the potatoes clear and dry them properly. Pierce them throughout with a fork (this enables steam to flee whereas cooking). Pour some olive oil on a small rimmed plate. Roll every potato within the olive oil to coat them throughout. Then, roll every potato within the herb-salt combination to utterly cowl them. Place the coated potatoes on the lined baking sheet.

Step 3: Bake the taters

Slide the sheet pan into the oven and bake the potatoes for 60 to 75 minutes till they’re utterly tender and simply pierced with a fork.

Step 4: In the meantime, make the whipped feta

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Whereas the potatoes are baking, crumble the feta cheese into the bowl of a meals processor. Dice the softened cream cheese and add this as properly; then run the meals processor to mix the cheeses. Pour within the 1/3 cup of olive oil and the lemon juice, and sprinkle within the salt and pepper. Course of the substances till they’re blended, scraping the bowl down a few times. Maintain the whipped feta within the fridge till the potatoes are prepared.

Step 5: High and serve

Nancy Mock For Style of Dwelling

Use a pointy knife to slit the tops of every baked potato. Squeeze the ends of every potato, pushing them towards the middle, to open them up and expose the mushy insides. High every potato with a beneficiant scoop of whipped feta, adopted by a sprinkle of chopped chives or scallion greens. Serve them whereas they’re scorching and melty, with any leftover whipped feta on the aspect.

Ideas for Making Ina Garten’s Baked Potatoes

Nancy Mock For Style of Dwelling

Is block feta or pre-crumbled feta higher?

Whereas these packages of pre-crumbled feta cheese are handy, for the perfect whipped topping, entire blocks of recent feta cheese are your finest guess. That’s as a result of the pre-crumbled bits of feta are sometimes coated with components to maintain them separated, which suggests they gained’t be as clean when whipped. (The identical is true of pre-shredded cheese.) It’s price the additional time to crumble feta your self.

How do you whip feta cheese and not using a meals processor?

You may make the whipped feta combination in a blender, beginning with the cheeses after which adopted by the liquids, salt and pepper. Another choice is a hand mixer, which can even be capable to course of the substances right into a creamy mix.

Ought to baked potatoes be wrapped in foil?

Save the foil for whenever you’re making campfire potatoes, and skip it for oven-baked potatoes. Why? The foil will maintain in steam because the potato cooks, which prevents the pores and skin from getting good and crispy. (That’s a essential a part of Ina’s recipe!) The foil layer may additionally gradual the baking, that means the potatoes will take longer to develop into tender.

What sort of salt does Ina Garten use?

When Ina requires kosher salt in her recipes, she at all times has one explicit kind in thoughts: Diamond Kosher Salt, which has very giant crystals. For these potatoes, although, she calls for an additional large-crystal salt; a sea salt generally known as Fleur de Sel. In case you don’t have these and must substitute finer-grained sea salts or desk salt, use lower than what’s referred to as for—in any other case the meals could style too salty.