As a kid, I loved potatoes. I could eat potatoes every single day. Schnitzel with mashed potatoes or potatoes cooked with beef or chicken were a gourmet meal for me. On days that mom cooked one of these dishes, I turned from a kid who ate nothing to one that finished everything on his plate only to ask for more. She didn’t even have to change anything. Today, in my home, we all love potatoes, but I think that my younger son has inherited my deep love for potatoes. He likes them cooked, baked, steamed, roasted, it doesn’t really matter. It's his favorite food. Fortunately he didn’t inherit my childhood self’s lack of a diverse palate, he loves variation in his food which allows me to try new dishes every time (that I would never even try as a kid, so please don’t tell him).
Ingredients
4 large potatoes
1 lb ground beef
1 onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
½ cup parsley chopped
½ cup cilantro chopped
¼ cup pine nuts roasted
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp baharat
½ tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 TBS olive oil
½ cup mozzarella cheese grated (optional)
Heat oven to 425 f. Wash the potatoes, wrap with aluminum foil and bake for about 1 hour until tender. Set aside to cool.
In a deep pan heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and fry until transparent. Add garlic and fry 1 more minute. Add ground beef and all other filling ingredients and spices and cook until meat changes its color. Let cool.
Lower oven heat to 375. Cut roasted potatoes into half lengthwise. With a parisienne spoon (or regular one if you don’t have one) carve the potato pulp and place in a bowl. Leave edges of ¼ inch. Mash the pulp with potato masher and add into the meat, and mix well. Fill each potato half with the filling generously, place in a baking pan and spread grated mozzarella cheese on each one (if you keep kosher you can do without the cheese). Bake 30 minutes to golden. Serve warm.
