Potatoes Cooked in Coal
The humble potato cooked in the coals of your open fire is about as comforting as it gets. The result is crispy golden skin with a soft buttery interior. You can’t go wrong with lashings of butter and a sprinkle of salt, but for something different, we season ours with creamy stracciatella, an Italian cheese made from mozzarella curds, and salty, crispy toasted saltbush.
Ingredients 6
6 potatoes, large, we love yukon gold
250 g unsalted butter, softened
1⁄2 bunch saltbush
300 g stracciatella
salt, to season
chives, finely chopped, to garnish, optional
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Method 7
Light a good amount of coals or charcoal in your fire or barbecue – you will need enough to bury the .
Using the point of a knife, prick the all over. Rub them all over with , then wrap each of them in a double layer of aluminium foil.
Bury the in the hot coals and cook for 40 minutes.
Unwrap to check if they’re done – they should be crispy on the outside and soft in the centre. If not, continue to cook until done.
A few minutes before the are ready, cook the over the coals for a few minutes, or until crispy.
Just before serving, open the hot , cut in half and season with a pinch of sea salt.
Arrange the on a platter cut side up and place a large spoonful of on each potato half. Finish the baked potatoes with a few pieces of crisp salt bush leaves and a sprinkling of chives, if using.
Meatsmith's tips
Saltbush is a hardy, native Australian plant that can survive in desert plains and dry ‘salty’ plains. Used in cooking, it imparts salinity and herbaceousness to dishes. The leaves can be fried and used as a crispy topping, dried and used as a rub for meat, or blanched and used in salads.
