Curried Butternut Squash Twice-Baked Potato with Crispy Chickpeas
A one-serving culinary mash-up (literally!) for those "what do I want to eat?" days
It was at Thanksgiving almost a decade ago that I learned how eating a twice-baked potato can be a deeply anti-social act.
A good friend had invited us over for the holidays, along with a few other stragglers and her parents. Her dad - let’s call him “Derek”, arrived on time with a single twice-baked potato wrapped carefully in foil. He placed it on the loaded communal holiday table, right next to the deviled eggs, and looked warily around.
My husband nudged our host. “Hey,” he asked, “What did Derek bring?”
“Oh,” our friend replied. “That’s…um…that’s Derek’s twice-baked potato. Please don’t eat it.”
“Does your dad…have some special dietary restrictions?”
“No.”
Derek appeared to be too busy guarding his potato to wonder what we were talking about.
When dinner time arrived, everyone served themselves, buffet-style, taking great pains to avoid the special spud. Derek, finally, added it to his plate, and when we all sat down ate it with apparent enjoyment alongside his turkey and cranberry sauce and green bean casserole.
I don’t know what was in that potato, but it must have been pretty good. Either that, or Derek was running some sort of decades-long joke or social experiment no-one else was privy to.
In the spirit of Derek’s Special Potato, I offer the recipe below as a weeknight-dinner-for-one option. It combines a few of my fall favorites (yes, I gave you a butternut squash recipe just last week…no, it’s probably not the last one.) All in it probably takes about an hour and a half, with about ten minutes of hands-on time. This is a pretty substantial and hearty recipe - a whole potato is a whole meal, or have half of one as a civilized side.
Of course, the take-home lesson here is not that hoarding your potato like a wary Smaug is the right move, especially during the season’s festive days. In fact, I humbly suggest that you might even enjoy it more if you scale it up to 2, 4, or more servings and enjoy it with, not just among, friends.
Curried Butternut Squash Twice-Baked Potato with Crispy Chickpeas (makes 1, but you are allowed to scale up and share!)
For the potato:
1 large russet potato
1/2 cup peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 t extra virgin olive oil
1 T nutritional yeast
1/4 c full-fat greek yogurt
1/2 T coconut oil
1/4 t salt
1/2 t curry powder (your favorite kind - any is ok!)
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t garlic powder
For the chickpeas - enough for 4 potatoes, or to keep a little extra on hand as a snack:
1 can or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 T olive oil
1/2 t salt
1/2 t smoked paprika
1/2 t garlic powder
Optional garnishes: more greek yogurt, chili crisp, chopped herbs, cheese…
Scrub the baked potato. Dry and rub with 1 t olive oil, wrap in foil, and bake at 375 for about an hour, until fork tender.
While the potato is baking, cook the squash. Easiest: put it in an oven-safe covered container and bake alongside the potato (the butternut squash will be done a little more quickly, so keep an eye on it.) You could also use leftover or frozen squash, or steam/microwave it.
Prepare the crispy chickpeas: Rinse and drain the chickpeas, then use a towel to dry. Toss in oil, salt, smoked paprika, and garlic powder, and then transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet in your oven (same one you’re using to roast the potato.) These should be done in 30-45 minutes - you want the outsides crispy and the insides creamy.
When your potato is baked, remove carefully from the oven. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides.
Combine potato innards, cooked butternut squash, yogurt, coconut oil, nutritional yeast, salt, and spices in a bowl. Mash until combined. (You can carefully use a stand mixer, but do not use a blender or food processor - the potatoes will become unpleasantly sticky.)
Scoop the filling back into the potato (or if you’re fancy, use a piping bag.) Return to the 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the filling is hot and the top is crispy.
Transfer to a bowl or plate. To serve, top with another dollop of yogurt, a sprinkle of salt to taste, about half the crispy chickpeas, and whatever other toppings your heart desires.
Pace behind the buffet line casting warning glances at anyone who approaches your potato - or, if you’ve scaled up, enjoy with friends. The choice is yours…but if you want to follow this week’s sacral chakra theme, perhaps pause to remember that connection and enjoyment are linked to each other.
Nutritional information (per potato, with 1/4 chickpea recipe): 637 calories, 23.5 g fat, 87.5 g carbohydrates, 13.7 g dietary fiber, 21.5 g protein.
Below: recipe PDF + audio for this post
