Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes

I LOVE samosas! If you've never had them, samosas are little fried triangles filled with a mixture of potato, peas, and delicious spices. One of my delicious delicious guilty pleasures is the samosa soup at Burma Superstar . Seriously, if you're in San Francisco you need to find this place and order the samosa soup! I know it might sound weird, but I think the basic recipe is that they take the leftover samosas from the day before, cut them into bite size pieces and mix it with the most amazingly delicious broth ever created. Someday I'll have to work out my own recipe for samosa soup, but for now I can usually satisfy my craving for the flavors of a samosa with this dish. I've been making this unique take on a twice baked potato a lot lately. They reheat very well, especially if after microwaving you take the extra couple of minutes it takes to put it under the broiler until the top is browned again. Oh, and to give credit where it is due, I got this recipe from Veganomicon, one of the best vegan cookbooks ever. I've added a couple things and changed the amounts a bit, but the basic recipe is from there.

Start by baking 4 large russet potatoes. Scrub them and poke them with a fork then cook for about an hour at 400 degrees. I often will do this in the morning while I'm getting ready for work, then just leave them on the counter all day until I get home. That way, when I get back in the evening they are cooked, cooled and all ready to go. Cut each potato in half and scoop out the insides into a bowl. Try not to puncture the skin while you do this.

Mash the potato insides with 1/4 cup of unsweetened soymilk and set aside. Then gather all the other ingredients:

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1 tsp. coriander seeds

1 large onion, diced

4 medium carrots, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup frozen peas

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 cup vegan plain soy yogurt

canola oil spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a skillet and spray with cooking spray. Add the mustard and coriander seeds and cook over medium heat until the seeds begin to pop. Cover the pan and let them pop away for about a minute, then add the carrots and onions. Saute about 10 minutes until the carrots are tender, then add the ginger and garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the cumin, turmeric, splash of water. Stir to combine and to get all the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, then add the potatoes. Continue cooking while stirring until the potatoes are heated through. Add the peas, lemon juice and yogurt and stir to combine.

Take each potato half and fill it with 1/8 of the potato filling. I like to really pack it in there to fill each half, then take what's left and pile it up on top. Spray the outside of the skin with a little canola oil and put each half on a baking sheet. Cook for about 20 minutes, then move the potatoes you plan to eat tonight into the broiler for about 5 minutes. The tops should get just the slightest bit brown and crunchy. These potatoes are one of my total obsessions right now and I love that this dish gives enough for leftovers for days. Yum, I'm so happy I can eat one again tomorrow!

Nutrition Facts: Serving = 2 potato halves. 412 calories; 3.4 g fat (0.2 sat); 0 mg cholesterol; 165 mg sodium; 82.3 g carbohydrate; 11.6 g fiber; 8.4 g sugar; 14.2 g protein; 382% vitamin A; 88% vitamin C; 9% calcium; 24% iron