Recipe: Loaded twice-baked ikura potatoes

Growing up in the United States, I ate my fair share of loaded baked potatoes, piled high with melted cheese and crisp bacon — but the “perfect bite” somehow eluded me. Twice-baked potatoes fix that.

Unlike a traditional baked potato, where you must carefully ration a slice of butter between two sides, the twice-baked version mixes the base filling with the potato interior so each bite has a little bit of everything. However, it wasn’t until I added a scoop of glistening ikura (salmon roe) to the dish that I managed to finally get that perfect bite.

Loaded twice-baked ikura potatoes are what happens when you give a Japanese twist to a Western staple. The dish features a wallop of umami that comes from scooping the insides out of the potatoes and mixing them with miso and butter. After that, you can top the finished product off with a generous dollop of sour cream and your choice of fixings. Furikake rice topping, spicy shichimi tōgarashi, scallions and spoonfuls of jewel-like ikura — as any baked potato fan will know, the fixings are always the best part.

The recipe below is made with oven instructions, but you can easily use a microwave instead. Simply pierce the raw potato a few times with a fork and microwave on high until tender. I use white miso as it provides a mild salty taste, but feel free to substitute with whatever miso you prefer. Most of the fixings below don’t include exact amounts, this is more of a choose-your-own adventure approach. Go light on the tōgarashi if you want to avoid spice, or make it rain furikake if you can’t get enough seaweed. Think of the potato as nature’s blank slate.

Makes 4

Cook: 70 mins.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium russet potatoes, rinsed
• 28 grams (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) sour cream
• Furikake topping, for garnish
• Shichimi tōgarashi, for garnish (optional)
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 47 grams (about 1/2 cup) ikura (salmon roe)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap each potato in aluminum foil and bake for an hour, or until fork tender. Turn off oven and set cooked potatoes aside.

2. Unwrap the potatoes and slice each one in half lengthwise. Being careful not to tear the skins, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and place it into a small bowl. Place the skins on a baking sheet and reserve for later.

3. Add butter, miso and salt to the potato flesh. Using a fork, mash together until fully incorporated. Then use a spoon to transfer the potato mixture into the potato skins.

4. Broil potatoes on high for five minutes or until warmed through. Remove from heat. When plating, equally divide remaining ingredients. Load the potatoes in this order: sour cream, furikake, tōgarashi, scallions and ikura. Serve immediately.

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