It’s still only November, but we’ve put the clocks back and the nights are drawing in and there’s a nip in the air. Plus I love this time of year and I can’t get cosy soon enough. So. Stuffed Baked Spuds. Mine’s whatever’s about to go off in the fridge; on this occasion, cottage cheese and crème fraiche.
Use as many potatoes as you need to feed the people lingering in your kitchen. The ingredients below would fill about four medium spuds.
I’ve tried many ways of baking spuds; with foil, without. With oil, without. This way produces crispy, golden, edible skins and innards like fluffy clouds.
Ingredients
Potatoes
Olive oil
Sea salt
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Small tub of cottage cheese
Small tub of crème fraiche
Small tin of tuna
1 tsp. capers
1 spring onion, chopped small
Lemon juice
Black pepper
Smoked paprika
Butter (optional)
Fresh basil leaves
Method
Scrub the spuds. Pat them dry with kitchen paper. Pour a bit of olive oil in your hands and roll the spuds around in your hands.
Put the spuds in a high-sided baking tray. Sprinkle with sea salt and chuck a sprig of rosemary in. Bake in a hot-ish oven about 180C/ Gas 7 for about 30-40 mins, depending on the size of spud.
After about 20 mins the kitchen will be fragrant with the rosemary and you know you’re on to a good thing.
Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients (apart from the basil) with a knife point of paprika. When the spuds are done, split them open, chuck a bit of butter in (not essential) and pile the cottage cheese mix on. Snip some basil over at the end. And there you have it: stuffed baked potatoes, pure comfort.