Cheese Stuffed Potatoes

This is actually tuna-cheese stuffed potatoes and it’s like a tuna melt but instead of bread, you have potatoes with sauce. You can skip the tuna and keep this vegetarian, if you choose. This is definitely a comfort food and while not an instant food it’s not hard to put together.

Normally, I’d cook the sauce briefly on the stovetop to thicken and get that creamy consistency but I had a small disaster when I’d returned from an overseas trip and found to my horror that not only had we run out of gas (we get gas from these big gas balloons). Worse yet! they check the gas lines in the house every five years to make sure they conform to safety standards. Now I agree that this is important, but I will spare you the endless hell they put me through to achieve this, and I was without gas for nearly a week. Mercifully, my stoves are electric but you don’t realize how much you need the stovetop till you don’t have it.

So, this added a challenge since I had to cook the sauce in the microwave. It was successful and you can do this but, I do prefer the stovetop method when all is said and done. But, you will now see the steps of doing this in the microwave!

First take two nice big potatoes

Scrub well, prick all over and put on a microwaveable dish and cook on full strength approximately 10-12 minutes (depending on your micro) till potatoes are fully cooked but not overdone.

As you can see it gets a big wrinkled but not overly so. Poke in a few spots with a toothpick or a fork to make sure it’s properly cooked. Nothing nastier than raw potato.

Set this aside and start the sauce fixings.

I actually bought this originally in Israel and then brought back another container from the States since it keeps well and is less messy but you can get it as cornflour here. This is the basis for the white sauce you will be making.

Take a cup of milk

and pour it into a bowl. I used whole milk but you can use low fat (I do not recommend skim. It will be thin and unappetizing). Scoop 2 lightly rounded tablespoons of cornstarch and shake over the milk and whisk till smooth (fork will do too).

Then, you cook it in the micro, zapping first for a minute and stirring and then at intervals of 15 seconds until it starts to thicken up nicely. If you do this in a pot on the stovetop, you can whisk the milk and cornstarch together in the pot and cook on low heat till it thickens, about 5 minutes maybe less. Just watch it so it doesn’t scorch.

Here the mixture has started to thicken up and I stirred in a tablespoon of butter, about a cup of grated Emek cheese a mild Edam/Muenster type of cheese but Cheddar is also great here.

After adding the cheese, I zapped the mixture again at intervals of 15-30 seconds till it set up and added one can of tuna (which you can omit for vegetarian) and stirred it in with the spices of salt, nutmeg and and a little black pepper. If doing in a pot, just add the butter and cheese to the sauce and stir till smooth and add spices and tuna (if using) after and again stir till smooth.

Next, take your pre “baked” potatoes and using an ovenproof dish, put them in and slice in half lengthwise twice, in other words, make two long cuts in the potatoes so you have two sections to open up. Slather the sauce generously over the top of the potatoes and at the last minute, I threw on some Baco bits (fake bacon bits) and then sprinkle with additional cheese.

Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) for 12-15 minutes or till top is golden brown and melty. Remember, your sauce is mostly cooked and your potatoes are completely cooked so you don’t need much oven time.

Stuffed potatoes are a yummy and filling lunch or dinner, or even breakfast if you will, and while you can’t freeze it, you can definitely keep it for a day or two in the fridge and nuke it in the microwave to reheat it for a quick hot meal. This even transports to the office pretty well in a proper thermal bag.

Cheese Stuffed Potatoes

2 large potatoes (this can obviously be scaled up by the number of eaters you have, just do so proportionately)

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter (can be omitted but adds tons of flavor)

2 rounded tablespoons of cornstarch

1 cup grated cheese, Emek or Edam or Muenster or Cheddar or American,

1/2 cup additional cheese for sprinkling

1 can tuna in water, drained, loosely chunked (optional)

2 tablespoons Bacos (fake bacon bits)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

The instructions for the sauce are both for microwave and stovetop.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take two large nice firm potatoes (I prefer the red skinned but Yukon or other good baking potatoes are fine). Scrub well, removing eyes if any, and pat dry. Put on microwaveable plate, and prick all over with fork and zap for approximately 10-12 minutes on full power or until the potatoes are fully fully cooked. Check with toothpick in different spots to be sure since uncooked potato is nasty and you are preparing this with the assumption that your potatoes are completely done. Set aside.

Pour the milk into a microwaveable bowl and whisk in the cornstarch till smooth, or in a pot, whisk together and then turn flame on low and continue stirring. In micro, zap for one minute and stir and zap at intervals till it starts to thicken up.

Add the cheese to the sauce (both pot or bowl) and stir in, in micro zapping again till thick and removing and in pot till smooth and thick. Add tuna, if using, and salt and pepper and nutmeg. Stir till smooth. Set aside.

Take a baking dish and put potatoes in it cutting two long slices lengthwise into the potatoes (two cuts to open up) and generously and evenly dividing the sauce between the two potatoes. Take the additional half a cup of cheese and sprinkle evenly over the potatoes. Put the baking dish into the hot oven and cook between 12 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly and golden brown. These are a very generous serving and one potato was the right portion for DH. Of course, you could use smaller potatoes and more of them for a brunch or smaller eaters. Filling, satisfying and yum.