Chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken of the Border Grill in Santa Monica suggested serving garlic-stuffed steaks that appear in their menu highlighted in the January 1986 Bon Appétit with rajas, a “creamy cheese-chili side dish.” In addition to sliced poblano chiles and red bell peppers, the chefs’ rajas recipe added onions, lots of Monterrey Jack cheese and whipping cream. It would be an incredibly rich side dish. They paired these foods with a simple baked chayote squash. Chayote squash wasn’t in my produce bin, but baking potatoes were. I decided to make some changes.
Pairing the steaks with potatoes made sense, and topping the potatoes with sautéed peppers that were the base of the rajas recipe sounded intriguing. I decided to forego the cheese and whipping cream and use a small amount of butter and some sour cream instead. The dairy would help counteract the spiciness of the peppers and would complement the steaks well.
As the smell of charring peppers filled my kitchen, I decided to sauté the roasted peppers in the reserved oil from the roasted garlic of the steak recipe. I also rubbed the raw potato skins with the flavored garlic oil before baking the spuds. These steps added a layer of flavor that worked well with the steaks.
We loved the color, texture, and blend of spicy and comforting that these potatoes created.
You can easily adjust the types of peppers you use to adapt to your spice-comfort level.
Baked Potatoes with Rajas
Sunnyside Cook
Ingredients
- 2 russet potatoes
- ½ tablespoon olive oil (can use reserved oil from Grilled Garlic-Stuffed Ribeye Steaks)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 pasilla or poblano chile pepper
- 1 Fresno or red jalapeño chile pepper
- 1 yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil (can use reserved oil from Grilled Garlic-Stuffed Ribeye Steaks)
- butter
- sour cream
Instructions
- Place red bell pepper, pasilla (or poblano), and Fresno (or red jalapeno) chile peppers under broiler. Broil under high heat, turning until charred on all sides. Using tongs, carefully transfer peppers to paper bag. Seal the top and allow peppers to steam for 10-15 minutes. Remove charred skin, stems, seeds, and membranes from peppers. Slice peppers thinly.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash potatoes well, scrubbing skins. Dry potatoes. Rub skins with ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Bake for one hour or until they reach desired doneness.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil over medium low heat in skillet. Sauté onion until it is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add sliced roasted peppers to onions and continue cooking, stirring occasionally around 8 minutes.
- When potatoes are baked to desired level, remove from oven and make a slit in the top of each one. Place desired amount of butter and sour cream inside each potato. Season with salt and pepper. Top potatoes with pepper and onion mixture. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, etc. Adapted from Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger in Bon Appétit (Jan. 1986)
