A fabulous, couldn’t-be-simpler side dish! Baked potatoes with herbs and poppy seeds make a delicious addition to any meal.
A bag of potatoes arrives in our organic vegetable box every week. As much as I try to be creative, we do end up eating boiled or mashed potato quite often. Or the world’s greatest roast potatoes of course, which is no bad thing. But it’s nice to have a few simple but tasty potato recipes in reserve, like these delicious baked potatoes with herbs and poppy seeds.
Holiday memories
This recipe was inspired by something I ate in Israel on family holidays many years ago. There was a restaurant we always went to for lunch, in the village of Amirim. It was basically in someone’s house, and the table would be groaning with a fantastic spread of incredible vegetarian food.
A few things really stick in my memory – glasses of cold, velvety-smooth borscht (beetroot soup), a huge array of soft, fresh, chalky-white cheeses, and ending each meal sitting on the veranda, drinking “hedge-clipping tea”. The latter was a delicious infusion of herbs, fruits, spices and foliage taken from the lush scented garden that surrounded the house.
Tasty baked potatoes
There was usually also a simple dish of baked potatoes with herbs and sesame seeds, and it was this I was hoping to emulate. Except – botheration! – no sesame seeds. Time to improvise with what we had, and a quick rummage turned up some poppy seeds instead. I added a few herbs and some flaky sea salt. Et voila! A delicious and couldn’t-be-simpler potato side dish.
Choose a seed
I topped my baked potatoes with herbs and poppy seeds, and I love this variation, but if you want to experience the original, simply substitute sesame seeds instead. In fact, you can use any kind of tasty seeds – fennel, cumin and nigella have a stronger flavour, while flaxseeds, chia or sunflower seeds are milder. Use one or a mixture!
Baked potatoes – easy & delicious
These easy baked potatoes with herbs and poppy seeds are a delicious side dish any time. You can serve them alongside fish or vegetarian dishes, or even as the main attraction with an array of salads and cheeses – much how we ate them in my younger days!
These seedy, herby baked potatoes are also particularly good at a barbecue, where they make a nice change from the ubiquitous potato salad.
This recipe makes enough for about four people but it’s really more of a guideline. Simply prepare one or two potatoes per person and be generous as you sprinkle on the toppings – you can’t go far wrong!
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📖 Recipe
Poppy seed and herb baked potatoes
Ingredients
- 6-8 medium/large potatoes (Roughly 1-2 per person)
- 2-4 tablespoon olive oil
- 3-4 teaspoon poppy seeds (or seeds of your choice)
- 3-4 teaspoon mixed dried herbs – I used herbs de Provence
- ½-1 teaspoon sea salt flakes – optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- 6-8 medium/large potatoesSlice each potato across the widest point, to give two shallow halves. Place the potatoes onto a baking tray.
- 2-4 tablespoon olive oil, 3-4 teaspoon poppy seeds, 3-4 teaspoon mixed dried herbs – I used herbs de Provence, ½-1 teaspoon sea salt flakes – optionalBrush each cut surface liberally with olive oil, then sprinkle over the seeds and herbs, and salt, if using.
- Bake in the hot oven for 45-60 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
Nutrition
More delicious potato recipes
Other delicious things to do with potatoes include:
- this wonderful garlic and rosemary scalloped potato roast
- these luscious Greek lemon and garlic potatoes
- these savoury roasted baby potatoes with mushrooms and onions
- this fabulous leek and potato kugel.
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