The Overloaded Spud - Part Two

We've been on a kick lately reinventing and recreating some of TGBK's first ever recipes. The Overloaded Spud (recipe here) debuted in February 2015 and has been a fan favorite every since. This time around we've taken the seemingly plain and nutritionally bland Russet potato and gave it quite a spin. With the addition of fava beans, fermented foods, and seasonal greens, this spud it anything but plain!

This recipe was inspired by a unique Italian recipe we came across for mashed fava beans combined with potatoes and bitter greens (here). Though we love the idea of a good mashed potato we much prefer to eat our potato with the skin (that's where the fiber is!). The idea of incorporating fava beans into mashed potatoes intrigued us because this addition of protein helps to make the simple baked potato into a complete meal. Along that theme we chose to use cottage cheese instead of more traditional additives to mashed potato such as cream cheese, sour cream, or butter. Cottage cheese provides more protein to this dish and is a fermented food - you know how we love our probiotics! And we can't say enough about the Good Culture brand we chose. In their cottage cheese they use quality ingredients, no additives, and live and active cultures (important to note that not all cottage cheese will based on how it is produced). Finally, we found mashed potato to be a perfect vehicle for incorporating bitter greens. Greens with a bitter taste, such as mustard greens, chicory, endive, dandelion, and watercress, can be overwhelming taste-wise but we felt paired perfectly with this dish. Ready to find out for yourself?

Fava Bean & Mustard Green Twice Baked Potato
PREP TIME: 60 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4 main dishes (full potato) or 8 sides (half potato)

Ingredients
4 medium russet potatoes
1/2 cup organic full fat cottage cheese (we used 4% milk fat Good Culture cottage cheese)
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup dried split fava beans
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 bunch organic mustard greens

Toppings
1 cup organic full fat cottage cheese (we used 4% milk fat Good Culture cottage cheese)
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Sprinkle of pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the outside of each potato with warm water. Using a fork, carefully pierce each potato about 4-6 times to allow steam to escape while potatoes are cooking. Sprinkle each potato with sea salt then place in the oven for 40-50 minutes or until soft and the skin can easily be pierced with a fork.

While the potatoes are cooking, rinse fava beans under warm water until water runs clear. Place in a pan and add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue cooking for 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the fava beans are soft. Note fava beans can be pre-soaked for 1-2 hours to quicken cooking time. Transfer cooked fava beans to a large bowl and add 1/4 cup warm water. Using a potato masher, mash the fava beans until they are broken down (think lumpy mashed potato texture) then set aside.  

Remove potatoes from the oven and allow them to slightly cool before handling.  Slice each potato open though not all the way through if possible. Scoop out the inside into the bowl with the fava beans, save the skins for later use. Using the potato masher, mash potatoes with the fava beans until a somewhat smooth texture is formed. In a blender or food processor add 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 3 Tbsp olive oil and process until creamy then fold into the fava bean and potato mixture until light and creamy.

Wash and de-stem the mustard greens. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp sea salt, and greens to a sauté pan and cook for 2 minutes or until wilted and bring green. Carefully strain off any liquid from the greens - this helps to remove the bitter taste. Chop greens into small pieces then fold into the fava bean and potato mixture. 

Evenly fill each potato skin with mixture* and place back in the oven to warm up for 5-10 minutes. Top each potato with a scoop of cottage cheese, drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of pepper. If you do not plan to serve all the potatoes keep the toppings off until ready to eat. Potatoes will keep in the fridge for 2-5 days. To reheat, preheat oven to 350 degrees and cook for 10 minutes or microwave for 1 minute then top with cottage cheese, olive oil and pepper to taste.

*You may have leftover mashed fava/potato mixture that does not fit back into potato skin, save to enjoy later!

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We can definitely attest to the final product being one overloaded and filling spud! The uniqueness of this recipe and flavor profile are sure to impress and excite. We found the flavor of fava beans (earthy and slightly bitter) to really shine and pair wonderfully with the mustard greens, and the mild flavored baked potato to be the perfect palate for the creation of this culinary magic.

Enjoy!
Jess and Cecelia