Stuffed jackets with mushrooms & pancetta

SERVES 4 PREP 10 mins COOK 1 hr 50 mins EASY

4 large baking potatoes

2 tsp olive oil, plus extra for frying

50g butter

300g mushrooms, sliced

160g pancetta or streaky bacon,

cut into small pieces

2 tbsp chopped chives, plus extra

to serve

50g parmesan or mature cheddar,

finely grated

4 tbsp milk 1 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Prick the potatoes a few times with a fork, then rub a little olive oil over the skins. Put them on a baking tray and sprinkle over

1 tsp of salt.

2 Bake for 1 hr-1 hr 30 mins until the skins are crisp and the potatoes are cooked through. Set aside for 15 mins until cool enough to handle. 3 Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium-high heat, add a good pinch of salt and fry the mushrooms for 8-10 mins until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a mixing bowl. Add the pancetta or bacon to the pan and fry for a few minutes until crisp all over, adding a little more oil if needed. Tip into the bowl with the mushrooms, the chives and cheese. Stir well.

4 Cut the potatoes in half lengthways and, without breaking the skins, carefully scoop out the flesh and mash it in a bowl with the milk. Stir the mashed potato into the mushrooms and bacon, and season to taste. Divide the mixture equally between the potato halves. 5 Bake for another 15-20 mins until golden and warmed through, then scatter over extra chives to serve.

GOOD TO KNOW fibre • 1 of 5-a-day • gluten free PER SERVING 536 kcals • fat 28g • saturates 13g • carbs 48g • sugars 4g • fibre 6g • protein 20g • salt 3.1g

Recipes adapted from The Batch Cook Book by Sam Gates (£18.99, Robinson). Photographs by Sam Gates. (Recipes are supplied by the publisher and not retested by us.)