Halloween baked potatoes

Today I bring you a dish without mystery, very quick, simple, and effective! Perfect to celebrate the most terrifying night of the year, this recipe for Halloween roasted potatoes , you will love it!

Potatoes are a great resource to accompany everything you cook. And if it's about preparing a Halloween table, with this recipe you're in for a treat! Because we're going to turn simple roasted potatoes with skin into such terrifying and monstrous faces that they'll become the most applauded dish of the night.

This tuber is just the right size to cut and hollow out the parts you want and draw a creepy face, with much less effort than it takes to do it on a pumpkin. Also, by making them unpeeled, we're going to embroider it, because the skin around the parts we've hollowed out dries more than the rest and creates a much more fun effect.

To mark the parts you are going to cut, you can use an awl or do it directly with the knife you will use to hollow out the pumpkin; ideally a knife for vegetables and fruits, like this one from Opinel , whose sharp and curved blade will work wonders for you. And if you think you can make a work of art, you can arm yourself with this complete set from Westmark , which is perfect for decorating pumpkins, it can do it all!

Potatoes ready and tools at the ready, let's get on with the recipe!

Ingredients

• One large or two medium potatoes per person*
• Extra virgin olive oil.
• Aromatic herbs to taste: rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc.
• A pinch of salt

*As I said at the beginning of the post, there is not much mystery to this recipe. But there is something important for it to turn out well: choose a good variety of potato and make sure the size of the potatoes is as similar as possible, so that they all roast at the same time.

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Wash all the potatoes well and dry them with a cloth or kitchen paper.
3. Carefully use a knife to make the nose, eyes and mouth on each potato. To make it easier, you can draw them by marking them first with the tip of the knife and then hollowing out each part little by little.
4. Place the potatoes in a baking dish , with the side where you have drawn the face facing up, and add a little oil, the herbs and a pinch of salt.
5. Place the tray in the oven and bake at 180°C for 25 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.
6. When they look golden, they are ready to serve. You can prick them with a toothpick to make sure they are fully cooked.
7. Bring them to the table and enjoy them accompanied by your favorite sauces, or a good melted cheese.

Grades

• If you decide to roast large potatoes, before placing them on the baking sheet, make two or three holes in the back of the potatoes with a toothpick or skewer, to help them roast evenly.
• Baked potatoes are a great accompaniment to any dish. And with melted cheese they are an example of a perfect match. Take advantage of the fact that you turn on the oven to roast the potatoes and also put the cheese dish with a camembert, a little oil and a sprig of rosemary. An exceptional pairing!
• Don't throw away the leftovers from the potato cuts! You can leave them covered in water in the fridge until the next day and add them to a purée or fry them and put them in an omelette. Or add them in a ramekin on the same baking tray with the potatoes, and take advantage of the opportunity to roast them (with a little salt, pepper, oil and thyme you will have an extra snack... that with a little brava sauce or mayonnaise will fly off the table).
• Dress the potatoes however you like. For example, you can add a few unpeeled garlic cloves to the same tray as the potatoes and then, at the table, use these roasted garlic cloves to flavour the potatoes. You can also accompany them with your favourite sauce or an oil flavoured with herbs or spices.

Recipe variations!

• If you want to make sure they are roasted quickly, or you prefer to make a bite rather than a side dish, or you serve a very attractive appetizer, you can slice the potatoes instead of making them whole. This will take a little longer to "draw" eyes and mouths, because you will have more to do, but it is easier to do because the slices are thin and you will save a lot of baking time .
• You can also use sweet potato! Roasted sweet potato is delicious, so you can make whole sweet potatoes or monster roasted sweet potato slices for Halloween too... or to liven up any day. The kids will love it!