Tools:
1 bowl
1 teaspoon or soup spoon size spoon for spooning potato out of the potato skins
1 cutting board and a knife
1 8×8 baking dish
1 cast iron frying pan, and a cast iron lid from a pot that more or less covers the frying pan
1 potato masher
1 small pot to warm milk and cheese
1 tablespoon for stirring and filling
Ingredients:
7 medium Maine potatoes (white potatoes)
1 Fennel Bulb, chopped
2 , maybe 3 T extra virgin olive oil
½ of an 8 ounce block of Cabot Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces of the 8 ounce bar, or ¼ pound), chopped
½ of a small roasted honey nut squash, chopped, without the skin
2/3 cups of warm whole milk
salt and pepper
Reference and additional Resource: modified from recipes.net “Twice Baked Potatoes With Roasted Fennel Recipe” recipe, found at this link address: https://recipes.net/main-dish/baked/twice-baked-potatoes-with-roasted-fennel-recipe/ – this recipe incorporates white wine, and butter into the mashed potatoes, and suggests a young cheese called Tetilla. They put the roasted fennel wedges on the side. The recipe sounds great. I appreciated the idea to warm the cheese with the milk, and followed most proportions, though halved the cheese and did not use the butter as squash was added.
Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and start baking the potatoes on the top rack. Put the chopped (in about 1/2″ x 3/4″ slices, or other medium or small shape), fennel bulb in frying pan, add the olive oil, toss, cover, roast below the potatoes until browned (about 40 minutes). Put a cut lengthwise into the potatoes to be able to scoop them out. To quote recipes.net, “With a spoon and working over a bowl, scoop out the potatoes to within ¼-inch of the skins. Using a masher or a large fork, coarsely mash” (recipe.net, from https://recipes.net/main-dish/baked/twice-baked-potatoes-with-roasted-fennel-recipe/ ). So, coarsely mash the potato that has been scooped out from the seven potatoes. We might have scooped the potatoes out to maybe ½ inch not ¼ inch.
In a small pot add the milk and warm until just beginning to steam – careful to not let the milk burn. Add the cheese and it will soften quite quickly. Mix into the potatoes with the roasted fennel and the chopped pre-baked squash. Add to the mashed potato fennel squash cheese milk mixture back into the potato skins and bake until golden brown at 425F, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Possible serving suggestions:
They were delicious on the side of a baked fish that also took about 10 or 15 or so minutes to bake.
Recipes.net suggests chopping the fennel fronds and sprinkling them over the potatos, and though the fronds are excellent, we did not try this. As their recipe calls for the fennel on the side, the fronds would sort of drop onto the golden buttery cheese-potato, and be incredible. As our potatoes were baked without the added butter, and with the vegetables incorporated into the potato mix, maybe half the uncooked fronds should be sprinkled on, and then set back in the oven for a minute, then take the potatos out of the oven, sprinkle more on, and serve. Just a guess on that, as again, it was not tried (but were I to make the recipe this week, that would likely be my approach).