Twice Baked Potatoes with Pesto and Mozzarella

These potatoes... oh my! The filling has all the flavor, boasting a creamy blend of mashed potatoes, basil pesto and mozzarella. Then, that mozzarella on top - it's all bubbly and caramelized. And the crisp potato skin... There's so much to love here.

I adore making twice-baked potatoes. They're actually super easy to make, but when you present them, it feels like a celebration. Like it's a special occasion. Who doesn't love a special occasion?

What makes them so easy? There are basically 3 steps: baking, filling, baking. For the first "phase", the potatoes are roasted in the oven - so the oven does all the work while you make the rest of dinner. Thanks to a quick rub of olive oil, the skin crisps up as the flesh tenderizes. And you don't need a baking pan, so there's nothing to clean. The second "phase" is the quickest, easiest prep ever. The soft potato flesh is mixed with pesto and cheese and spooned back into the potato skin. That's the gist of it. For the last step, the stuffed potatoes are topped with cheese and baked for a few more minutes - to melt everything and turn the cheese golden and gooey. 1, 2, 3, whoopee.

Twice-baked potatoes are prep-ahead friendly too. Assemble and fill the baked potatoes as instructed and arrange them in the pan for the second baking (the one that melts the cheese). Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Pull the pan from the fridge about 30 minutes before baking and bake as instructed (remove the plastic wrap first!). If you're serving a bigger crowd, simply double or triple the recipe. Easy, breezy.

Twice Baked Potatoes with Pesto and Mozzarella

2 large russet/baking potatoes, scrubbed clean and patted dry
1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for oiling the potatoes and the pan
2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Salt and ground black pepper
Fresh basil leaves for serving, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Coat the potatoes with a thin layer of olive oil and place them directly on the oven rack. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let the potatoes rest until they're cool enough to handle.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, halve them lengthwise and use a small spoon to scoop the flesh into a bowl, reserving about 1/4-inch of the flesh with the skin. Add the pesto, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella cheese to the potatoes in the bowl and mix with a fork until blended and smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Season the inside of the potato halves with salt and pepper. Spoon the filling back into the potatoes.
Brush a little olive oil in a bottom of a shallow baking dish or ovenproof skillet. Arrange the potatoes in the pan and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Top with basil leaves and serve hot.

Serves 4