These Twice-Baked Potatoes Are Stuffed with a Secret Ingredient
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Welcome to The Pioneer Woman Cookbook Club! This month, we're featuring Carbivore by Phoebe Lapine. A food and health writer, author, and the personality behind the Feed Me Phoebe blog, Phoebe talks all about carbs and why they belong in everyone's diet. Keep reading to get her knock-out recipe for crab cake twice-baked potatoes.
In a world where diet trends are ever changing, one steadfast truth remains: everyone loves carbs. Really, who can resist a loaded spud or a scoop of Ree Drummond's famous mac and cheese? But then again, carbs have caught a lot of flack in recent years. For those who adore pasta, bread, and all foods starchy, Phoebe Lapine's newest book Carbivore is a revelation in the carb conversation.
A food and nutrition veteran, Phoebe loves pasta as much as the next person. But at age 22, she had to take a step back from her favorite food group when she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Having left her corporate job to work in the food industry, the diagnosis was even more devastating when she was told to completely change her diet. Phoebe painstakingly went gluten-free and "went through all the stages of grief," she jokes.
But that was just the beginning of Phoebe's health journey, which she chronicled on her blog Feed Me Phoebe, and in her previous books. "There are lot of really extreme voices on the internet that say you have to go paleo or you have to give up all carbs," she says. "When I was dealing with these chronic issues, I felt really confused and also really deprived when I tried to go that extreme." Phoebe wasn't alone.
She heard from people in similar boats who were experiencing unpleasant symptoms from extreme diets, and who were also just "feeling crazy around food," she says. “In the health world, I think we can kind of lose sight of the fact that pleasure is really important," says Phoebe. "I always say food is medicine but it's more than just medicine."
Phoebe gave up on restrictive diets and instead found a more balanced approach to eating, discovering healthful ways to enjoy her favorite foods—French fries included. Now, in Carbivore, Phoebe is reclaiming her beloved carbs once and for all.
What exactly is a carb and how does it affect your body? That's just a taste of what you'll learn in the first half of Carbivore. Phoebe shares sounds advice on making vegetables the star of the meal and how to layer rice on the bottom of your grain bowls as to not gobble it up all at once. The meat—and potatoes—of the book is 130 recipes that are every carb-lover's dream. It includes dishes like spinach-artichoke dip mac and cheese, a healthy spin on breaded chicken tenders, and imaginative desserts for special occasions.
The recipes are divided by type of carb, so whether your pantry is overflowing with old-fashioned oats or spaghetti, you can easily flip to a chapter and get cooking. Phoebe follows a gluten-free diet, but she calls the book "gluten optional," meaning you can choose your own adventure. The best part is that the recipes aren't complicated, nor do they call for a grocery cart full of obscure ingredients. "I love a quick, one-pan weeknight meal," says Phoebe, and you'll find plenty of them in this book.
The recipe we've shared here for crab cake twice-baked potatoes is an unexpected spin on spuds. Typically, crab cakes are stuffed with breadcrumbs, but Phoebe folds some of the potato flesh into them. Not only does it help stretch the luxurious lump crabmeat, but the potato allows the delicious flavor of the crabmeat to really shine. "You just get this really delicious, soft, tender crab cake in the middle of your potato," she says. And what more could you want in a meal?
Yields: 8 servings
Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
Ingredients
Crab Cake Twice-Baked Potatoes
4
medium russet potatoes (1 ½ pounds)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1/2 c.
Zesty Old Bay Breadcrumbs or regular dried breadcrumbs, divided
2
medium jalapeños
8 oz.
fresh lump crabmeat
1/4 c.
mayonnaise
1 tbsp.
dijon mustard
2
scallions, finely chopped
2 tbsp.
chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp.
fresh lemon juice
Old Bay seasoning or paprika
Lemon wedges
Zesty Old Bay Breadcrumbs
4 c.
cubed or torn gluten-free or regular sourdough bread
1/4 c.
extra-virgin olive oil
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
2 tbsp.
finely chopped fresh parsley, or 1 tsp. dried
1 tsp.
Old Bay seasoning
1/4 tsp.
sea salt
Directions
For the crab cake twice-baked potatoes: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Halve the potatoes lengthwise. Brush with oil and season with salt. Place, cut-side down, on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake until fork-tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle. (You can also refrigerate them for 20 minutes to help develop the resistant starch.) Leave the oven on.
Meanwhile, make the Zesty Old Bay Breadcrumbs, if not using store-bought crumbs.
Make the crab cake filling: Finely mince 1 jalapeño and transfer to a medium bowl. Thinly slice the remaining jalapeño and set aside. Add the crabmeat, mayo, mustard, 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, the scallions, parsley, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon salt to the minced jalapeño and mix until combined.
When the potatoes are no longer too hot to handle, scoop out some of the flesh from the center of each potato, leaving ⅓-inch shell around the skin, into a medium bowl. Using a fork, mash the potato until smooth. Add ¾ cup of the mashed potato to the crab mixture and stir to incorporate. Taste the crab filling for seasoning, and add more salt or lemon juice, as needed.
Return the potato skins to the parchment-lined baking sheet, hollow-side up. Scoop a generous amount of the crab mixture into each shell (there should be a heaping dome). Sprinkle each with some of the remaining breadcrumbs, then top with a jalapeño slice and a sprinkle of Old Bay. Bake until the tops of the cakes are set and the breadcrumbs are golden, about 10 minutes.
Serve with lemon wedges as a main course or side dish for a summer BBQ.
For the zesty Old Bay breadcrumbs: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the bread cubes in a food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs form. You can continue pulsing for a finer consistency, but I prefer chunky crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a medium bowl and toss with the oil, lemon zest, parsley, Old Bay, and salt to coat. Spread the crumbs evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for about 10 minutes until the crumbs are golden brown and crisp. Let cool completely on the baking sheet, then transfer to an airtight container.
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