A break from the elections - an interesting recipe idea!

I discovered a version of this recipe in a magazine the other day. As always, I never have everything required so wing it with what I do have in the cupboard to try and replicate the idea of the recipe even if I don't do the actual recipe!

This one took a bit of time but it was worth in. I forgot to take a picture of the completed dish but imagine it nicely browned and crispy around the edges.

The basic idea is to use those smallish, waxy potatoes. You peel them and parboil them for about five minutes. You don't want to cook them through just get them to 'soften' a bit to make the slits and insert the slices of bacon.

After your potatoes are parboiled and cooled a bit, cut about four or five slits into each one going almost to the other side of the potato. Insert a bit of bacon deep into his cut. Slicing the bacon and freezing it on parchment paper makes this process a whole, lot easier! The parchment paper to prevent sticking on the tray and the freezing to have a firm bit of bacon to push into each slit.

Brush each potato with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven.

This takes about 45-60 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. Meanwhile, smash a couple of peeled cloves of garlic and saute in melted butter. Stir in a few pepper flakes and some thinly sliced scallions. Baste the potatoes with this mixture periodically during the baking period. When the potatoes are golden with a bit of a crust, they are ready to serve.

The bacon cooked inside the potatoes makes an interesting contrast. They are a nice side to a steak or beef meal or chops. It was kind of an adventure attempting this recipe the first time but it turned out well enough that I'm thinking of ways to do it even better another time.