Yahoo News Friday night dinner: Baked potatoes with hot smoked fish, sour cream and pickled cucumber
If you ever wanted to know what the inside of my brain looks like (and honestly, why would you?) you need only scroll through my iPhone notes. I suppose it’s the modern equivalent of a paper diary, where the day’s musings, anxieties and ideas are dumped and forgotten about. Mine is filled with the usual frantic reminders and rolling admin lists. Then there are the entries which, while three sheets to the wind on a night bus through Piccadilly Circus, I suspect might be extremely profound meditations on life, but in actual fact were simply ramblings brought on by Sauvignon Blanc and whatever Joni Mitchell album I was listening to. There are also a fair few quotes from Desert Island Discs episodes and a smattering of links to luxury cabins I’ll never be able to afford to stay in.
Almost every single other note (and there are over 1,000 of them) is about food. And if I’m being really honest, 76 per cent of those are ideas for things to do with potatoes. “CRISPY CHIMICHURRI POTS WITH SOUR CREAM???” reads one, faintly aggressive note. “That crunchy pitta, pickled onion salad thing but as a canape?” reads another. And, my personal favourite: “Trifle, but make it Ottolenghi-ish. NB: apricots?” Yes, I am aware I’m insane. In my defence, the chimichurri potatoes really were a good idea.
Scrolling through the notes this week, one caught my eye. It simply said: “Jacket potato with New York bagel vibe”. I suspect I might have been watching When Harry Met Sally when this one was written. In any case, it was a pretty good idea, and also happens to be just the kind of zero effort meal we could all do with the night after an election. You can mix and match toppings, but I love the combination of hot potato flesh, salty butter, cold sour cream, smoked fish and tangy pickles.
Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
SERVES
2
INGREDIENTS
2 large baking potatoes
Flaked sea salt
½ a cucumber, finely sliced into ribbons lengthways
150ml cider vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
4 tbsp sour cream
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Small handful of dill, roughly chopped (or chives if you prefer)
60g smoked salmon or trout
Cold butter, to serve
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.
Wash the potatoes and prick with a fork. While they’re still damp, sprinkle all over with salt. Put them directly on the oven shelf, not touching. Bake for an hour and 15 minutes (or more, depending on how big your potatoes are). It’s done when the skin is crisp but the potato feels soft underneath if you press it.
Meanwhile, heat the vinegar with the sugar in a small pan until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over the cucumber and leave to cool while you do everything else.
Mix the sour cream with the spring onions, half the dill and a little salt and black pepper.
To serve, cut open the potatoes and pile cold butter, sour cream and flakes of smoked fish into it. Finish with more dill, and a pile of pickles on the side.
