This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
I adore baked potatoes – unfortunately mine are usually swamped with flaked salt butter and too much salt, but hey, that’s the way I like them (and I do have low blood pressure). The only drawback that I can see is that you have to think ahead ie they take a good hour to cook so that the skin is crispy and the inside soft and fluffy. So, what if you could cook a batch in advance and then just take them out of your freezer every time you need one or two? Well that is what this recipe from Jane Lovett is about…
Jane says: “Nice and cheesy, they’re just perfect with cold meats, as well as in their own right with a salad and perhaps come chutney or pickled walnuts. They freeze like a dream too – as they say, what’s not to like…“
Why not take a peek at Jane’s website where you’ll find more of her wonderful recipes and can pre-order her new book Deliciously Simple which will be out on 2 March 2023 (in time for Mother’s Day!)
Twice Baked Cheesy Potatoes
Difficulty: EasyServes 4 - 8 depending on what else is being served.
Ingredients
4 medium potatoes, around 200-250g each, such as Maris Piper 50g butter
1 teaspoon salt, possibly more
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
125g Cheddar, grated (or other hard cheese)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
- Score around the edge of each potato, just down from the top to form a ‘lid’, then place them at the top of the oven, directly onto the oven shelf. Cook for 1–11⁄4 hours or until cooked through. Turn the oven up to 220°C/200°C fan/gas7.
- When just cool enough to handle cut the top off the potatoes through the scored line. Scoop the potato out of the lids into a mixing bowl. Scoop the flesh from the potatoes into the bowl, add the butter, the teaspoon of salt and the paprika and mash until the potato is smooth. Add the cheese and mash again until incorporated. The cheese may not all have quite melted which is fine.
- Spoon the potato back into the skins, pressing it well into the bottom and piling it up as necessary. Fluff up the tops with a fork.
- Place the stuffed potatoes onto a baking sheet (I like to line it with silicone or baking paper, or tin foil, to catch any spillages and save washing up) and cook for 20 minutes until heated through and golden brown. Allow the potatoes to cool down a little before serving – they will be mouth-burningly hot and steamy in the middle and will taste of nothing until the steam has subsided.
Notes
- Get Ahead: Make to the end of Step 4, cool, cover and chill for up to 4 days. Or open freeze individually on a tray, then store in a bag in the freezer. Thaw before cooking as above.
- For stuffed potato halves, score the potatoes around their circumference before cooking, cut in half when cooked and continue as above.
- To cook potato skins – snip into strips/fingers, spread out, skin-side down, on a baking sheet lined as above (re-use what you’ve used for the potatoes), brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt (and any flavourings such as ground cumin or smoked/hot smoked paprika) and cook, temp as above, for 8-12 minutes until golden and crisp (the time will depend on how much potato, if any, is left in the skins). These are great for dunking into dips, snacking, or broken up and scattered over salads.
We’ve around 1000 more recipes on this A&G website – check them out!