Stuffed Potatoes by Grandma Franca

To prepare Grandma Franca's stuffed potatoes, start by peeling the potatoes. Then cut both ends 1, so that the potatoes stand upright on their own. Next, take a small knife, make a cut along the inner perimeter of the potatoes, leaving a 1/8-inch border 2, and make a cut in the center of the flesh 3 to facilitate extraction.

Still using a small knife, a melon baller, or a vegetable peeler, extract the inner flesh 4 without piercing the bottom 5. Once all the potatoes are scooped out, place them in a bowl and cover them with water; this way they won't turn brown. Now focus on preparing the ragù ingredients: make an incision in the sausage and crumble it into a small bowl 6.

Then place the smoked bacon on a cutting board and cut it into strips and then into cubes 7. Peel a garlic clove and chop it finely, then pour extra virgin olive oil into a pan, and once hot, sauté the chopped garlic for a few minutes, then deglaze with water or vegetable broth 8. To find out how to prepare it best, consult our Cooking School: Vegetable broth. When the liquid has evaporated, add the crumbled sausage 9.

Continue by adding the cubed smoked bacon 10 and stir with a wooden spoon to crumble the meat well. Then add the chopped carrot and fresh scallion 11 and let cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Afterward, pour a ladle of vegetable broth and also add the ground meat 12.

Stir to crumble the meat and deglaze with dry white wine. Pour a tablespoon of tomato paste into a small bowl and dissolve it with a bit of broth, then add it to the cooking ragù 14. Meanwhile, cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters 15.

Finely chop marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and parsley 16, then add the quartered cherry tomatoes and the chopped aromatic herbs to the ragù (17-18).

Add the zest of half a lemon 19 and the chopped green chili pepper with seeds removed 20. Salt and pepper to taste 21 and let the ragù cook for at least 30 minutes. When it has dried out, remove the lemon peels and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

At this point, you can drain the potatoes, dry them with paper towels, and place them side by side in a wide pan, also suitable for oven cooking 22. Salt them inside one by one 23 and fill them with the ragù to the brim 24; 2-3 tablespoons per potato will be enough.

All that remains is to continue cooking, basting the potatoes with oil and vegetable broth up to one-third of their height (25-26). Cover with a lid 27 and let cook for 50-60 minutes leaving a small vent. If the potatoes dry out too much, add some vegetable broth. For a crunchier effect, once cooking is finished, you can put your stuffed potatoes under the grill at 400°F for 10 minutes. You can also cook the whole dish in a preheated static oven at 350°F for 90 minutes. All that's left is to let Grandma Franca's stuffed potatoes cool slightly and enjoy them to the fullest!