Baked Potatoes with Yogurt Mint Dipping Sauce

Recipe from: Super Natural Cooking, by Heidi Swanson

8 small potatoes or 4 larger potatoes
6 large cloves garlic, sliced into razor thin rounds 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon harissa, or your favorite hot sauce
fine grain sea salt
For the dipping sauce:
1 cup plain yogurt
2 more cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 375º.  Wash and dry the potatoes.  Act as if you are going to cut each potato into very thin crosswise slices, but cut only 80 percent of the way through, leaving the potatoes connected at the bottom.  Toss the garlic, olive oil, harissa, and a couple of pinches of salt together in a small bowl.  Tuck the garlic slices deep into the potato crevices and rub the outsides of the potatoes with any leftover harissa oil.  Sprinkle them with salt and place them on a baking sheet or baking dish, cut side up.  Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 20 minutes or until tender.  While the potatoes are baking, combine the yogurt, garlic, mint, cilantro, salt and a few grinds of pepper in a small bowl and stir well.  Serve the potatoes with the dipping sauce on the side or drizzled on top.