Jackets potatoes are the best easy dinner to warm anyone after a cold winter day, and this classic dish has now been perfected to make it even better.
British national treasure Mary Berry has shared she has a simple way to “dress up” jacket potatoes with three easy-to-make fillings from her cookbook ‘Simple Comforts’.
Mary wrote: “Here are lots of lovely filling ideas to dress up plain jacket potatoes. They are great for feeding a crowd and the ultimate comfort food.”
Not only does this cooking method show you how to make crispy yet fluffy potatoes, but Mary has suggested a bacon and mushroom topping, spring onion and sour cream topping or a pepper and goat’s cheese topping as a flavourful filling.
This recipe takes less than 30 minutes to prepare this simple dinner, and the jacket potatoes will take around one hour to fully cook in the oven.
READ MORE: ‘I’m a nutritionist – here’s how to make roast potatoes healthier’
How to make Mary Berry’s ‘posh’ jacket potatoes
Ingredients
To make the jacket potatoes:
- Four large baking potatoes
- Two tablespoons of milk
- Two tablespoons of parsley
- A knob of butter
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
For the bacon and mushroom topping:
- Four bacon rashers chopped into small pieces
- 50g (1¾oz) of sliced button mushrooms
- 75g (2½oz) of grated mature cheddar cheese
For the spring onion and sour cream topping:
- Four chopped spring onions
- Four big tablespoons of sour cream
- One tablespoon of olive oil
- Paprika to season
For the pepper and goat cheese topping:
- Two large red peppers sliced in half and deseeded
- One tablespoon of soft goat cheese
- One tablespoon of chopped basil leaves
Instructions
To make the jacket potatoes:
- To begin, preheat the oven to 220C (425F)/200C.
- Place your potatoes on a roasting tray and bake for around an hour until the potatoes have softened in the middle with a crispy skin.
- Once fully cooked, slice each potato in half and scoop out the fluffy potato filling. Place the potato in a bowl and add the milk and butter. Mix and mash the bowl ingredients with a fork.
- Stir in any topping of your choice (see recipes below) into the potato mixture and then scoop the mixture back into the potato skins.
- Place the potatoes back on the baking tray and drizzle over a little olive oil on them.
- Cook for another 15 minutes in the oven until the potato skin is golden brown and crispy.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot out of the oven.
To make the fillings:
Bacon and mushroom:
- Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy and golden. Add the mushrooms to your pan and fry on high heat for a few minutes.
- Mix into your bowl of soft fluffy potato and then add back into the potato skins. Season generously and sprinkle on top of the grated cheese.
Spring onion and sour cream:
- Fry the spring onions in oil on a high heat until they have softened. Add to your bowl of fluffy soft potato and then mix in the sour cream.
- Add back to the potato mixture, season well and then dust the potatoes with paprika.
Red pepper and goat cheese:
- Place the pepper halves on a baking tray with the skin side up and drizzle them in olive oil.
- Roast in the oven for around 15 minutes until softened at 200C (425F).
- Once cooked, cut into thin strips and stir into the soft and fluffy potato mixture. Season the mixture and then place back into the potato skins. Add on top the goat’s cheese and basil leaves.
