There are a few recurring questions that still have no answer: What is the meaning of life? Are we the only sentient beings in the universe? The end of Lost—why? How can we insist on filling our sweet potatoes with butter or marshmallows instead of literally anything else?
We can do better. I realized this while I watched late-night sweet potatoes cook in tin foil over a charcoal grill at Taqueria El Paisa in Baja California Sur, Mexico. A man removed the sweet potatoes from the grill, sliced them down the center, then took a giant knife to a rotating pork spit and sliced off pineapple and pork...directly onto the potato. Instead of a tortilla. He sprinkled queso de rancho over top and called it papas al pastor, rather than tacos al pastor. If grilled meat can cascade into a potato, what else works?
For starters, if you're making a basic sweet potato at home, senior food editor Rick Martinez recommends preheating the oven to 400°, slathering it in a little olive or other oil, sprinkling some salt over top, and roasting until the flesh is soft, about 40 minutes to an hour. (If you're using a regular potato, you can roast directly on an oven rack; if you're using sweet potatoes, put the potatoes on a baking sheet since they release liquid as they cook.) Then cut 'em open and fill them with these recipes:
Al Pastor
Recipe: Tacos al pastor (just ditch the tacos)
Sure, there's no spit involved, but you've gotta work with what you have.
Chicken Larb
Recipe: Chicken Larb
It's embarrassing how frequently we make this at home but, yes, make it rain Thai-inspired ground chicken over that potato.
Creamed Swiss Chard
Recipe: Creamed Swiss Chard with Lemony Breadcrumbs
It's like the creamed spinach you get at your favorite steakhouse, except with more breadcrumbs and greens that actually hold their shape when cooked. Thinking about this creamy, lemony sauce soaking into the potato already has us pre-heating our ovens.
Bulgogi
Recipe: Basic Bulgogi
Yes, we call it Basic Bulgogi, but we don't mean it like that. It's more that we can't get enough of it, because it's so easy and basically our favorite.
Beef Stroganoff
Recipe: Beef Stroganoff
When life gives you beef tenderloin, make our editor-in-chief's signature recipe for beef stroganoff. And put the beef mixture on a potato instead of noodles.
Coconut Beef Curry
Recipe: Coconut Beef Curry
All of the flavor of a 20-ingredient, four-hour curry—but without that much work. Let the coconutty sauce seep into your potato for a hearty winter dinner that gives you an excuse to eat more coconut.
Pork Ragù
Recipe: Pork Ragù
If the soupy appeal of chili over a baked potato is really what grabs you, then you should get acquainted with this pork ragù.
Yogurt Sauce
Recipe: Pistachio-Yogurt Sauce
Swap out your usual stick of butter and drizzle of milk for a pistachio-yogurt sauce that'll help you appreciate potatoes for the incredible blank canvases they are.
Pulled Pork
Recipe: North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork with Vinegar Sauce
Pulled pork is incredible on its own, but the killer North Carolina barbecue sauce that goes with this recipe is the clincher, especially when you pour it all over a potato.
Coconut Milk Greens
Recipe: Aromatic Wilted Greens with Coconut Milk
It's a whole lot easier to eat your greens when they're soaked in coconut milk and served with a potato. If only our child selves could see us now.
Other combinations that aren't just butter:
- Labneh
- Crème fraîche
- Red salsa (for a regular potato)
- Green salsa (for a sweet potato)
- Miso + gochujang
- Miso + honey + Thai chiles, red pepper flakes, or sambal
- Black tahini
- Almond or peanut butter + soy sauce + lime juice + fish sauce
- Lemon + butter
- Orange + butter
- White wine + butter + garlic + parsley
- Garlicky yogurt sauce
