.gif)
The baked, stuffed potato skin came from the chain restaurant world, but that doesn't necessarily make it terrible. This version borrows the basic premise and works a New Orleans taste in. Small peeled fresh shrimp are often a bargain and pretty good; this dish puts them to work.
- 10 medium-small russet potatoes
- 1 stick butter
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 lb. small peeled shrimp
- 1/2 lb. tasso
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ~
- Sauce:
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 2 Tbs. prepared horseradish
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbs. Creole mustard
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire
- 1 tsp. Louisiana hot sauce
1. Select only potatoes without any serious blemishes. Scrub the skins well with a brush or curly scrubber under cold running water.
2. Bake the potatoes till a little underdone--about one hour.
3. After they cool, slice the potatoes from end to end into quarters. Scoop a little more than half the white part out of each potato quarter. Save what you scoop out for mashed potatoes.
4. Heat a tablespoon of the butter in a skillet over high heat. Sauté the shrimp, tasso, and green onions until the shrimp turn pink--just a couple of minutes at most.
5. Chop the shrimp and tasso mixture roughly.
6. Turn on the broiler. Brush the insides of the potato tops and bottoms with butter. Broil the potatoes until you see a little browning around the edges.
7. Remove and spoon into each potato skin about two tablespoons of the shrimp-and-tasso mixture. Top with enough shredded cheese to almost, but not quite cover. Return to the broiler until the cheese begins to bubble.
8. Mix the sauce ingredients. Serve the potato skins with the sauce on the side for dipping.
Serves six to ten.