Roast Potato with Cheese & Creamy Pea Mash

As a potato recipe is being written, I did a quick search on why potatoes are called 'spuds' in Australia and it was the name of a sharp tool used to dig them up.  Whole potatoes baked in the oven might be ordinary but what you can do to them after they've been roasted is not so. Cut across the top with crispy skins peeled back and the flesh fluffed up, they are ready for a variety of toppings and fillings.  A knob of butter is good, sour cream and chives is a classic, so is a tin of baked beans.  Piling the spuds up with your leftover bolognese sauce, chilli con carne or Mexican pulled pork makes hearty meals out of them.  I like mine with cheddar cheese and pea mash flavoured with homemade basil pesto (or any green pesto).

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium to large baking potatoes*
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 400g / 14oz frozen peas
• 4 tablespoons cream or sour cream
• ¼ cup grated cheddar cheese

Use brushed, Sebago potatoes or similar with a floury texture for best results.  Brushed potatoesare sold with a thin layer of soil on the skin.  They are brushed instead of washed for market, which helps to extend the potato's shelf life.

For the basil pesto:

• 2 cups basil leaves
• 1 small garlic clove, peeled
• ¼ cup pine nuts or roughly chopped macadamia nuts
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

1. Scrub the potatoes clean with a brush and pat dry.  Prick the skin lightly with a fork in several places to let steam escape while baking.
2. Coat potatoes in olive oil and sea salt.
3. Place in a baking tray lined with baking paper and roast in a preheated 200°C/400°F oven for 45-50 minutes or until the skins are crisp and the potatoes are fork tender.
4. Meanwhile, make the pesto by following instructions below. 
5. Cook the frozen peas in simmering water for 1-2 minute until just tender.  Drain and roughly mash with a potato masher.  Stir in cream and the pesto.
6. Remove roasted potatoes from the oven but leave the oven on.  Allow the potatoes to cool for a few minutes.  Cut a cross on the top of each potato and gently squeeze it open with your hands in oven mitts as they will be hot.  Fluff the flesh up with a fork.  Insert 1 tablespoon cheese into each potato and pop them back into the oven for 5 minutes or so to melt.
7. Remove from the oven and spoon equal amount of the pea and pesto mixture on top of each potato.  Serve hot.

To make the basil pesto:

1. Toast pine nuts or macadamia nuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes until lightly browned.  
2. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
3. In the bowl of a small food processor, place the basil, nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Pulse for a few seconds to combine.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then pulse again.  Add olive oil and pulse for a few more seconds until smooth, or to desired consistency.
4. Have a taste of the pesto.  Adjust seasoning.