Jacket potatoes could be instantly tastier if you add two simple ingredients. 101 Cookbooks shared its recipe for the “perfect jacket potato”, promising “crispy jackets that split open to reveal a fluffy white potato interior”.
The site said that all you need is a hot oven paired with a salt-rubbed potato – “no foil, no fuss, and no microwave”. Use a fork to puncture the potatoes about 10 times to ensure none of them explode as steam builds up inside while baking. Rub them with sea salt (no oil), and put them in the oven at 200C for up to an hour. Test doneness by stabbing the potato with a skewer or knife; there should be little resistance. Once out of the oven, slice a deep cross on the tops of the potatoes and add whatever fillings you like. One of the toppings recommended by 101 Cookbooks is compound butter, with lemon miso and scallion-dill compound butters being “particularly good”.
A compound butter is softened butter that has been whipped with other sweet or savoury ingredients, such as herbs, spices, garlic, citrus, or honey, to create a flavoured butter.
The mixture is then reformed, typically into a log, wrapped in parchment or plastic, and chilled until firm, before being sliced to add flavour and richness to hot or cold dishes.
Another simple ingredient is cheese. 101 Cookbooks recommends grated cheddar, grated gruyere, or crumbled goat’s cheese.
Those looking for slightly more complicated toppings could choose chilli, egg mayonnaise, homemade salsa and sour cream, pesto, or a homemade spice blend.
Other simple ingredients include Serrano vinegar (thinly slice a couple of Serrano chilli peppers, and cover with white vinegar), za’atar and labneh, and greens like spring onions, chives or other chopped herbs.
It is also recommended to elevate simple ingredients for toppings, such as toasting pumpkin seeds, baking mushrooms, and making kale chips and chilli crisp.