Baked potatoes with a tasty twist

A staple of the dinner table, the humble baked potato is elevated to star ingredient when combined with mouthwatering flavours

“Yet was ever the Potato our old, familiar dish, And the best of all sauces with the beeves and the fish” Lady Jane Wilde, ‘A Lament for the Potato’

Double-baked stuffed potato Serves 4

4 baking potatoes 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing 200g Cheddar, grated 30g butter 3 tbsp single cream 8 slices ham, chopped 3 tbsp chopped curly parsley sea salt and black pepper Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6 and grease a large oven tin with oil. Place the whole potatoes on the tin and prick each one a couple of times with a fork on both sides. Cover each potato with oil and bake for 1 hr until soft, and the skins are crispy. Allow the potatoes to cool slightly, then cut in half lengthways. Scoop out the insides into a mixing bowl, leaving a 1cm border of potato inside the skin. Add all but 20g of the cheese to the bowl, followed by the butter, cream, ham and parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly, then divide between the potato skins, levelling the tops with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese and season with pepper. Bake for 15 mins, then grill for 5 mins until golden on top, and serve.