So, Christmas is over. Part of me is kind of thankful. It was wonderful, full of friends, family & food. The three best things in life, pretty much ;-). Now January is well and truly upon us, and in my world, a little bit of indulgence is still acceptable. I know most posts this time of year are health and detox orientated, ‘New Year, new me’ and all that codswallop – but I reckon January should be a mild extension of the festive season. Ease yourselves in gently, that’s what I say!
You might also notice these bad boys are served up on my ‘Sophie’s Scran’ solid wood chopping board. Best Christmas present ever, thanks Sis 😀
So here it goes – a simple, easy, super scrummy Saturday night treat. Cheesy Jacket Pots. This serves two hungry, hungover mongrels and takes about 1.5 hours from pot to plate.
What you need:
- 3 decent sized floury white potatoes
- 50g grated cheddar cheese (or any leftover cheese from the Christmas cheese board)
- 20g goats cheese (just a small amount for topping, no need to measure)
- 3 rashers of streaky smoked bacon
- Olive oil (plain, or you can use an infused olive oil such as garlic)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Baked beans
- BBQ sauce (I used The Market Wraps Louisiana BBQ Sauce from Market Wraps, via Flavour Full Stop.)
What to do:
- Heat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6
- Clean your spuds and dry off with a tea towel, then use your hands to rub a layer of oil over them
- Season your spuds with some sea salt which should stick to the oil nicely
- No need for a baking tray – once the oven is hot, place them directly on the middle shelf of the oven, and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes. If you’re using really big spuds, they may need a little longer, so add 15 minutes to the cooking time if you think it’s needed.
- Whilst they are cooking, griddle your bacon on a hot skillet until it’s crispy, they transfer to some kitchen paper to absorb any excess grease (or don’t, depending on how healthy you’re feeling!)
- Grate the cheese and set aside.
- To check your spuds are baked, take them out of the oven and examine them to make sure they are a golden brown colour and the skins are nice and crisp. If you insert a knife into the biggest spud and it’s piping hot when you take it out – they should be done.
- Turn off the oven, and preheat your grill to a high heat.
- Cut each baked spud in half and scoop out the fluffy potato filling into a bowl, then add 2 thirds of the the grated cheese and crispy bacon and mix to combine.
- Using a spoon, scoop the mixture back into each jacket potato skin until each skin is full again and all the mixture is used up.
- Transfer your loaded skins onto a baking tray and top with a thin layer of of the remaining grated cheese, and top again with a small crumbling of the goats cheese.
- Transfer the cheese-topped spuds to the grill and keep an eye on them for about 10 mins – just until the cheese is melted, bubbling and golden.
- Serve with BBQ baked beans (I added a few lashings of Market Wraps Louisiana BBQ Sauce to some Heinz Baked beans, but you could use a sauce of your choice) and a little rocket salad.
Enjoy, Scranners! -x-
