Roasted Tomato Goat Cheese Baked Idaho® Potato

Ingredients

• 12 medium Idaho® potatoes
• ½ cup canola oil
• 1 large Black Beauty eggplant
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 pound firm goat cheese
• 3 or 4 mint leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Rub potatoes with canola oil and pierce them a few times with a fork.
3. Place potatoes on an oven rack in the middle of the oven; bake for 45 minutes.
4. Make a slit in the bottom of each cherry tomato, toss with some of the olive oil, and place in a pan beneath the potatoes. Bake about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are golden and the skin has popped.
5. While the potatoes cook, begin the eggplant. Cut eggplant into ½-inch cubes, salt and pepper, and sauté on medium high heat in the olive oil; reserve on the side.
6. Peel the skin off the tomatoes and place the tomatoes in a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment.
7. Add the goat cheese and mint and whip until all ingredients are well incorporated.
8. When potatoes are done, remove from the oven. Split each potato in half and remove a small amount of the flesh.
9. Place a spoonful of the goat cheese mixture in the cavity and top with some of the eggplant. Place back under the broiler or beneath a salamander for a short while, until the eggplant crisps and the goat cheese warms. Serve hot.