The humble potato I just love and adore. I can think of a million things to do with one and just recently I remembered something that I used to do at university to make a 50p meal taste just delicious. Bake once. Bake twice.

Ingredients:

Large baking potatoes (one per person)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Butter

Creme fraiche

Cheddar

Method:

Wash your potatoes well and then rub them with a little olive oil, salt & pepper. Bake for half an hour in an oven at 180 degrees. Test to make sure that they have softened through by inserting a skewer or sharp knife and if it goes in easily, remove the spuds and carefully chop them (longways) in half.

Using a dessert spoon, scoop out the potato leaving the skin and put the skins back in the oven ‘naked’ while you use a potato masher to mash the innerds and add a tablespoon of creme fraiche to loosen with a nub of butter, around 25g.

Season with salt and pepper and add some grated cheese to taste, around 100g. Mix well.

Take your potato skins back out and then load them back up with the filling. Add some more grated cheese to the top and return them to the oven for another ten minutes until the cheese is golden.

Remove and allow to cool slightly as they will be hotter than the sun.

Enjoy!

Good to know: Also good with some baked beans mixed in with the filling. Do not use too much of the bean ‘juice’ as it makes them too runny but this is another fantastic lunchtime treat or evening side dish that’s just a bit more interesting than a chip or a roastie.