Jacket potato is a beloved British classic, but it can be a bit bland and boring, no matter how much baked beans or cheese you add on top. As I’m always on the hunt to revamp simple dishes into gourmet masterpieces, I stumbled across a new cookbook by Anthony Ekizian, a culinary director at the 4-star restaurant Gaucho, where he shares his twist on the humble jacket potato by ditching the traditional spud for more tasty ingredients.
In his book, the seasoned chef shared: “This Gaucho classic does everything it can to celebrate versatile and delicious sweet potatoes, which appear frequently in various forms in Argentinian cooking.” Discover how to make sweet potatoes with goat’s cheese and crème fraîche below.
How to make baked sweet potatoes with goat’s cheese and crème fraîche
This recipe serves up to four people, takes 10 minutes to prepare, and one hour to cook. Alternatively, sweet potato lovers can discover how to make crispy baked spuds without using an oven here.
You can also find out how to make perfect jacket potatoes in 15 minutes, or if you would like to learn more from the Gaucho Culinary Director, Anthony Ekizian, explore the exact time to cook steak without it becoming chewy or rubbery here.
Ingredients
- Four sweet potatoes
- One tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil
- 150g of goat’s cheese
- 100g of crème fraîche
- Two tablespoons of chopped chives
- Two tablespoons of flat-leaf parsley
- Sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- Bacon pieces (optional and not in the cookbook)
Method
To begin, preheat your oven to 220°C (or 200°C fan). Next, prick each sweet potato all over with a fork. For this recipe, you do not need to peel the skin of the sweet potato, just like a traditional jacket potato.
With this in mind, I recommend thoroughly washing your potatoes and removing the root hair. Then, place them onto a baking tray, drizzle generously with olive oil and give them a good rub so they’re fully coated.
Sprinkle the potatoes with sea salt, then place them in the oven for 45–60 minutes, until they are soft and tender. While they roast, mix the creamy goat’s cheese with the crème fraîche in a small bowl.
Stir in half the chopped chives and season to your taste with sea salt and black pepper, then set aside. When the potatoes are cooked, allow them to cool just slightly, then slice down the middle, taking care not to cut right through.
Gently open them up to create space for the filling. Spoon the cheese mixture into each warm sweet potato, letting it melt beautifully into the soft flesh.
Scatter over the remaining chives and all the parsley for a fresh garnish. Serve while hot, finishing with a final drizzle of olive oil and more black pepper.
My verdict
This recipe was so delicious, my family nearly licked the plate. Despite its long cooking time, this method was remarkably effortless and easy, allowing any home cook to pull it off.
My only criticism is the high price of goat cheese; 100g of Somerset Goats’ cheese costs me £2.25 per pack at Sainsbury’s (I needed 150g. However, the overall price of the meal was under £10.
Nonetheless, goat’s cheese is the perfect addition to splurge on, offering a creamy and tangy flavour. I’m also not a major fan of sweet potatoes, so I tried this dish with white potatoes, and it worked just as well.
I also thought this dish would be yummy with some added bacon, and I was right. I definitely recommend adding a sprinkle to your potatoes. This simple dish is sure to be a crowd pleaser for any occasion, but mainly the perfect lunchtime meal.
Gaucho currently has 20 restaurants, with 12 located in London. The remaining eight are in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, and Edinburgh.
You can discover more recipes from Gaucho by ordering the cookbook from Amazon here. Gaucho: The Spirit of Argentina: A Cookbook is priced at £27.93, down from £35.