Cheese and chive jacket potato

The Recycled Cook

Cheese and chive jacket potato



Jacket potatoes are one of those really comforting dishes that seem to have been around forever, we all have our favourite toppings.

 Chucking the potato in the microwave and adding your topping is one way but they can be a lot more interesting than that too.
Prick the skin all over and put straight onto the rack in the oven on 200° (Gas mark 6) and bake for about 40 mins, turning half way through cooking. 

 The time will vary depending on the the size of the potato. Use any large potato you have available.

 After baking, halve and gently score the potato in a criss cross pattern, being careful not to pierce the skin but if you do it is not disastrous.

For this one I used left over cheese from the fridge and fresh chives from my garden. You can substitute finely chopped spring onion for the chives.
Scoop out the centre and place in a mixing bowl, season well with salt and black pepper. 

 I added some garlic salt too but you could equally add any spice of your choosing. 

 Grate in the cheese, I used a mixture of mature Welsh mountain cheese, Manchebo and hard goats cheese (Crotin) but whatever cheese you have will be fine, experiment.

 Adding some gated Parmesan will give it a lovely taste too.
Mix well and check your seasoning then spoon into the empty skins. Grate some additional fresh cheese over the potatoes and top with fresh chives, I find the easiest way is to snip a bunch with scissors.

 You could also sprinkle a little smoked Paprika over the top or even use a smoked cheese if you have some.

Put them back in a moderately hot oven (150 degrees or gas Mark 5) for about 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

I served these as an accompaniment to gammon steak and Italian tomatoes with fresh basil but you could serve them with a variety of meals or even on their own with some mustard on the side. For that extra crispness rub the skin with a little olive oil, to make it really special use a flavoured oil such as chilli, sun dried tomato or even Truffle oil if you are feeling extravagant.

 


Disclaimer: The suggestions and tips on these blog pages are meant to be used in conjunction with common sense. Keeping your family healthy is the priority. Do not use food that is unfit for human consumption and always follow sensible food hygiene guidelines.

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