"sf" <.> ha scritto nel messaggio
...
>
> OK, I've read about rolling in salt and someone mentioned recently
> about inserting slivers of garlic. All sounds delicious!
>
> I tried it tonight. Gah! How do I make the salt stick? Water didn't
> make sense because the salt would "melt". Then I tried inserting
> garlic slivers.... which was like trying to insert garlic into rock.
> How do you make those holes? Use a meat cleaver? I ended up coating
> the potato in evoo and sprinkling it with kosher salt, garlic granules
> and coarse pepper (why not... I'd grind pepper on the skin anyway).
> My final problem was what to do with it when it's in the oven... do I
> just put it on the oven rack the way I usually do - or put something
> under it because the skin will dry and things tend to fall off? I put
> something under it. It's baking now. More news later (no news means
> bad news).

I've never done either and don't plan to, but I do a traditional pugliese
antipasto that is similar and which I find miraculously good.

I keep the salt from one cooking to the next, so it isn't wasteful.
Buy as many tiny new baking potatoes (this can be done with other tiny
potatoes, but they will be marginally less good) as you need. Wash them
very well, and dry them. Rub some olive oil on them with your hands. N a
deep baking dish, lay a layer of very coarse salt, (almost rock salt but I
can't think of what the US equiv would be) then a layer of potatoes, then
salt, then, etc. until you end up with salt. I happen to use a soufflé dish
which seems ideal for its depth.

Pop that into a very hot oven, 225°C or 450°F and cook for about an hour.
Brush the salt off and serve. I can handle these right off by wearing
surgical gloves, but have sort of iron hands by now. Some might want to
wear a nice new pair of gardening gloves.

When serving a more elaborate dinner, I serve fresh, soft goats cheese with
these. Otherwise they are eaten plain.