Best way to Bake Potatoes ever!

Step aside potato wedges, shove off hasselbacks, we have a new baked potato dish in town, and it is daaaamn yummy.

Last week, my friend Smitha Hemadri shared her method for steamed and baked potatoes. 😱 The moment I saw it I knew I HAD to make it RIGHT AWAY!

The simplicity of this recipe just blows my mind. It has literally ONE ingredient – Potatoes.

• Scrub and clean potatoes very well, and remove the eyes
• DO NOT peel them (you’ll see how the skin turns out to be the *tastiest* part by the end)
• Pierce all over with a clean needle or toothpick (but be careful that the toothpick doesn’t break off into the potato 😂)
• Steam the potatoes whole for 20-30 mins, depending on the size
• Preheat oven to 250C (450F)
• Line the steamed potatoes on a baking tray and then, this is the most important bit, gently press down on each one using something flat and heavy (I used a rock). They should get crushed lightly and open up, but not mashed completely. If they fall apart a bit, it’s okay (the larger potatoes do this), very gently squish the bits together into one crumbled mass.
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Serve hot

That’s it! No salt, no oil, no garlic, no herbs. Nothing else required.

If you like, you can drizzle a little hot sauce over it and serve (Bhut Jholokia FTW 🔥), but you won’t believe how freaking scrumptious it tastes just on its own.

The gentle crushing is the KEY here. It creates multiple textures while baking. Soft in some parts, crispy and crunchy in some. Like seriously, I can’t even explain it in words. You have to try it to get what I mean.

Oh and as a chef, you might get very tempted to add things into the crevices before baking – crushed garlic, vegan butter, olive oil, salt, herbs, pepper, nooch... I really wanted to! But resist the temptation. Just make these potatoes plain, at least the first time.

You need to experience the pure potato flavours and textures in all their glory. 😃

If you try this, let me know how you like it. Also, Smitha is the queen of highly creative, super healthy recipes. Check out more of her Insta posts if you’re into eating clean.