Ingredients:
4 large Idaho potatoes
1/2 lb. Schaller & Weber bacon
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into thin strips
6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/4 lb. string beans, chopped into thirds
1/4 lb. grape tomatoes
4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and rinse potatoes. Pat dry and
pierce the potato skins with a fork. Place potatoes on a baking sheet
and bake for one hour.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the other ingredients.
Slice bacon into 6-8 thick strips. Place in a sauteé pan set on
medium-low heat until bacon fat has been rendered and the strips are
golden without being crisp. Remove bacon from the pan, leaving the fat.
Slice onion into thin strips and add to the rendered bacon fat,
cooking over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Add the garlic to the
onions and cook for another 20 minutes until both the onions and garlic
are golden brown.
Remove onions and garlic from the bacon fat and set aside.
Chop string beans into thirds, slice cherry tomatoes in
half and cook both in the same pan with the bacon fat used previously
for the onions and garlic over low heat for 10 minutes. Set aside.
Remove the potatoes from the oven. Cut in half and scoop out the insides
into a mixing bowl, set the skins aside. Add whole milk, salt and pepper
to the potatoes with the onions and garlic,
then purée with a hand blender.
If you don't have a hand blender, purée the onions and garlic in a food
processor, then mash the puréed garlic and onions with salt and pepper
into the potatoes and milk. Add string beans and tomatoes to the
potato mixture and incorporate ingredients by hand (being careful not
to smash the tomatoes.)
Scoop the potato mixture back into the skins placed on a baking sheet.
Tuck 1-2 bacon strips into each potato boat, top with parmesan cheese
and place back into the oven for 15-25 minutes, until the cheese is
melted and golden brown.
Remove the potatoes from the oven.
Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
