LITTLE STUFFED POTATOES WITH HOMEMADE HERB CHEESE

LITTLE STUFFED POTATOES WITH HOMEMADE HERB CHEESE image

Yield 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 19

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HERB CHEESE
6 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 ounces Asiago or Manchego cheese, shredded
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 packed tablespoons parsley leaves
3 large whole scallions
1 tightly packed tablespoon fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
POTATOES
16 small red-skinned potatoes, about 2 to 2½ inches in diameter
Extra virgin olive oil
STUFFING
6 tablespoons butter, divided
½ small to medium onion, minced
1½ cups finely shredded cabbage
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian or Spanish paprika
¼ cup thinly sliced scallion tops

Steps:

Up to a day before serving, use a food processor to puree together the cream cheese, sour cream, Asiago or Manchego and garlic. Pulse in parsley, scallions and basil just to finely chop them. Turn mixture into a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make a 1½-inch slit in each potato. Rub skins with olive oil and bake about 1 hour or until soft. While potatoes are baking, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Quickly brown the onions and cabbage (it takes about 8 minutes for cabbage to color well). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the paprika. Have handy a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer. Oil or butter it. Once the potatoes are done, carefully scoop pulp into a medium bowl, taking care not to burn yourself or tear the potato skins. Mash the pulp with a fork, adding remaining 4 tablespoons butter and the sauteed cabbage and onion. Blend in about ⅔ of the cheese mixture. Stuff the mixture back into the potato skins; arrange them in the baking dish in a single layer and dot with remaining cheese mixture. At this point, you could refrigerate the potatoes overnight. To serve, let potatoes come to room temperature, and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake potatoes 25 to 35 minutes, or until hot at their centers. Serve them hot, sprinkled with sliced scallion tops.