I introduce to you the Reggae Potato…… ‘The what potato?’ I hear you ask….. The Reggae Potato! ……. Tropically delicious crispy potato skins, stuffed to overflowing with mashed potato which has been infused with coconut milk and mixed with black eyed beans, sautéed onions, garlic and corn…. all shot through with a mingling of lime, Caribbean spices and chilli flakes and topped with an (optional) sprinkling of cheese…… Lush!
The origins of the Reggae Potato? …….. A VW Golf driving on the M1, heading North with two noisy 10 year olds singing and giggling loudly in the back…..
The Reggae Potato my dear readers, is the result of a crazy, made up song which drove me to such distraction on a recent trip to the Peak District, that I ended up developing a recipe to go with it!
I have no idea how the song got going in the first place, but within a matter of hours of leaving home, it had a full set of (completely bonkers) 10 year old lyrics, complete with Jamaican(ish) accent, which was incessantly repeated (along with another made-up poem about a bean deciding who he should leave his pension to when he died….. I kid you not….. ‘Little Billy-Jean’ is apparently getting it….) for 4 full days…….
That was 2 weeks ago and I still can’t get the darn things out of my head!
I will spare you the full set of lyrics…… I would hate to be responsible for anyone else’s insanity….., but basically the song went through a full range of possible cooked potato options, before suggesting there was one we didn’t yet know about….. the ‘Reggae Potato’. It was described well enough to include Jamaican spices and ‘a little man plait’ (which I am assuming refers to dreadlocks)…….. I chose not to add that to the ingredients list(!)…… and was put ‘in the oven’ to cook.
So what does any (now deranged) parent do with such information? We do some internet research into what flavours and ingredients might go into such a dish if it were to have Jamaican origins and then we turn those ingredients into an experimental meal.
Yep….. A darn tasty and very delicious meal at that. So tasty, that I couldn’t keep it to myself…
So next time you have your kids driving you mad with their shouting, singing and story-telling (however noisy, repetitive and irritating it might be), listen very carefully to the creativity that lies beneath…. they may just be giving you the inspiration for a fantastic new recipe!
I am sharing my Reggae Potatoes with the following blog link-ups :
Meat Free Mondays with Tinned Tomatoes (who has just been shortlisted for the Good Housekeeping Award). Good Luck Jacqueline!
My Legume Love Affair, this month being guest-hosted by Shaheen at Allotment to Kitchen, on behalf of Lisa’a Kitchen (and its creator, The Well-Seasoned Cook)
Recipe of the Week with A Mummy Too.
Credit Crunch Munch – this month being hosted by Travels For Taste, on behalf of Fab Food 4 All and Fuss Free Flavours. These potatoes are perfect for a cheap, tasty and healthy meal!
And finally….. Brilliant Blog Posts with Honest Mum.
Reggae Potatoes (4 servings)
Ingredients
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
a good grate of nutmeg
3 to 4 large pinches of dried chilli flakes
2 to 3 tablespoons coconut milk
grated cheddar cheese (optional)
ground black pepper
to serve :
soured cream and lime
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 200 C/400 F/Gas 6.
- Put a little olive oil on your hands and rub into the skin of the potatoes with a little salt. Prick the potatoes a couple of times with a sharp knife/fork and place in the oven to cook for about 40 minutes or until well-baked.
- While the potatoes are baking, make the rest of the filling mixture : sauté the onion and garlic in a saucepan over a medium heat, until soft and beginning to brown.
- Add the corn and stir through, continuing to cook for a couple more minutes.
- Add the beans, lime juice, spices, a sprinkle of salt and chilli flakes and heat through thoroughly, stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and allow to cool slightly, before cutting each in half and scooping out the potato flesh into a large bowl. Set the skins aside.
- Mash the potato with the coconut milk and then add the rest of the filling and fold through until evenly combined.
- Use the mixture to load the potato skins and place them on a baking tray.
- Sprinkle a little grated cheese on top of each potato half and add a good grind of black pepper.
- Place the potatoes back in the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes until thoroughly hot, with crispy skins and melted cheese.
- Serve with soured cream and a squeeze of lime.
I love both jacket potatoes and black beans and together with the rest of the ingredients I can see this is one tasty and very frugal meal:-) Thanks for a great #CreditCrunchMunch entry:-)
Thanks Camilla. You're welcome. It was very cheap, nutritious, flavoursome and filling…… so perfect really!
Haha! I think you definitely need to share the full lyrics! I Also love the sound of the recipe, I will definitely try this as soon as the weather picks up and I can light my barbecue for the first time this year. I will make these and throw some jerk chicken legs on the BBQ! Ya Man. I wonder if the man plait in the song might have meant plantain. Just would make more culinary sense…
Thanks! Let me know if you make them and what you think! They would be perfect with jerk chicken legs.
As for whether plait could be plantain? Nah! 10 year olds don't consider whether the song makes sense in culinary or any other terms….. they just make up crazy lyrics and laugh a lot! Maybe I should video them singing it!!!!
What a great name and dish! I've not had potato skins for ages – and must remedy this.
Thanks Helen. A bit random….. but so tasty! Potato skins need to have a revival me thinks!
Wow interesting! Very inventive, I would like this! Send me one please. I love baked potatoes. Funky presentation!
Thanks Alida. It was lots of fun to devise!
Love the look of these cool sounding baked potatoes skins, they look absolutely delicious! Thanks for linking up with #CreditCrunchMunch for March 2016 🙂
Thanks Manjiri. They made a fab meal (and it's always good to share a good meal!)
Ooo I havn't had loaded potato skins for such a long while, thanks for brining them back 🙂 Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare
You're welcome Hayley. Loaded skins are great, so I am happy to 'bring them back'!
You have no idea how much I love this dish. This is another great gluten-free recipe of yours. Pinning and Making it!
Thank you Ilka. I really hope you enjoy it…… let me know! x
I love where your inspiration comes from and I love the look of these!!! Really yummy!
Thank you Vicki. Inspiration comes from the most unexpected places doesn't it?!
Hahaha love the 'optional' next to the cheese – like I have a choice in the matter! 😉
I accidentally bought Himalayan pink salt instead of curing salts once but have never used them – what's their benefit? Better flavour?
Also do you think these would reheat ok? I'm thinking of making them for a stunning working lunch!
Thanks Martin….. I'm the same….. cheese is not 'optional' in my house either!
Apparently pink Himalayan salt is packed full of minerals, but has less sodium….. it is allegedly better for you, but I use it 'cos I like the colour and flavour (yep….. that shallow!)…
As for re-heating the potatoes….. They should reheat well…. I would suggest that you make them to the point of loading the skins and rather than stick them back in the oven at that point, heat them when ready to eat them. Let me know how you find them!!
What a fun idea – I hope you sang the song as you made your potatoes – I had been hoping to see the lyrics but then again I have enough in my life to drive me crazy without a song 🙂
Thanks Johanna. I think anyone with kids has an element of 'crazy' in their lives! This was a little beyond that….. and yes…. I did sing the song while I made them and intermittently while we ate them. Sort of my way of 'getting Miss GF back'!!!
I love this! It is awesome. I want some now and its nearly my bedtime! Thanks for sharing with MLLA. I do hope you will join in with #EatYourGreens too, pretty please.
Thanks Shaheen. Anything green will be joined….. I promise!
These look delicious and such a great story! I love hearing the inspiration behind dishes…especially when they are as bonkers as this one 🙂 Eb x
Thanks Eb….. This one was a bit random, but the potatoes were a great result! x
This sounds amazing! I think my kids will really enjoy these as well. Thank you so much for sharing at the Link-Up. Yummy!!! Pinned 🙂
Thanks Angela. You're more than welcome x