Potatoes stuffed with vegetables and baked bacon

Stuffed potatoes. Today’s recipe is for  potatoes stuffed with vegetables and bacon  with a tip of cheese, but this is not the first recipe for stuffed potatoes that we prepared. One of those potato recipes with which, in a moment and without work, we get a result of licking our fingers. We recently introduced you to a Latin American classic:  potato bombs and another perfect recipe as a starter, almost a salad, potatoes with a refreshing filling of olives, eggs and pickles . As you can see, they are two very different but equally tasty recipes, ideal to accompany any meat or fish dish.

Due to the number of traditional recipes with potatoes that we have in Spain we almost consider it as our own, but the truth is that it is not. Its origin is in the Andean highlands, it began to be cultivated in the countries of Bolivia, Peru and Chile about 7,000 years ago. It was not until the discovery of America when it reached Europe, becoming today one of the staple foods in almost the entire planet. Initially it was considered simply an ornamental “rarity” of the new world, but due to the droughts and famines that occurred in southern Spain in 1571 and 1574, its consumption began as food for the most humble people. It came to spread throughout Spain in the early seventeenth century but continued to be considered food for the poor, and from there until the nineteenth century when it was the staple food of the entire population.

As a good Galician at this point I have to say that the Galician potato is one of the best I have ever tasted. Whether they are from my father’s farm or those that we can get in Xinzo de Limia or Coristanco, the Galician potato is a sure bet of quality, flavor and exceptional texture. In fact, the Galician potato has a Protected Geographical Indication.

In my opinion, this is a perfect “recycling” recipe, which gives us a lot of play when choosing the filling: vegetables, meat, tuna, egg … it allows us to use almost anything we have in the fridge to prepare them.

Preparation of stuffed potatoes

1. We wash the potatoes superficially and cook them whole and unpeeled for no more than 10 minutes. Drain and let cool.  We prepare the vegetables, wash and peel the carrot, peel the onion, wash the peppers and zucchini. We chop the vegetables into pieces as small as possible. We reserve.
2. In a frying pan add a splash of olive oil and when it is hot add the chopped onion. We poach the onion for 5 minutes and add the carrot and the very chopped peppers. Let the vegetables cook for 10 minutes.
3. Sprinkle with a pinch of thyme and salt. Let the vegetables continue to cook for 10 more minutes, or until we see that the onion is almost transparent. Add the zucchini and wine and let reduce.
4. Cut the bacon slices into small pieces and add them to the pan. We brown it together with the vegetables for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to bring the flavors together.
5. As soon as we see that the bacon is starting to roast we add the flour. We remove so that it integrates and cooks for 2-3 minutes. We pour the milk and stir with a few rods. We leave on the fire for 2-3 more minutes. We remove from the fire and reserve.
6. While we preheat the oven to 180º C, cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. With a teaspoon of coffee we are emptying each potato but without going over, since otherwise the boats will break. If you do not like the skin, peel the potatoes carefully, although it would not be necessary. We place the potatoes in a baking dish and fill them with the mixture of vegetables and bacon.
7. We place a piece of cheese on top of each one and put in the oven for 20 minutes at 180º C. When we see that the cheese begins to roast, we cover the tray with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning, and we continue to bake.
8. We remove from the oven taking care not to burn ourselves and eat immediately, this is how warm they are as they are best. Take advantage!