We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how pros cut their jacket potatoes, as well as the only microwave jacket potato recipe I’ve tried that really works.
And now, Mary Berry has shared her secret to “posh” jacket spuds that are just as moreish as pizza.
In her cookbook Simple Comforts, the Cordon Bleu-trained chef says her “posh jacket potatoes” are “great for feeding a crowd and the ultimate comfort food”.
How to upgrade your jacket potatoes
Mary adds four different types of toppings to her potatoes to make them even more satisfying.
The first one, red pepper and goat’s cheese, involves chargrilling bell peppers (or using pre-grilled ones), which she mixes into the mashed potato middle. Then, she adds goat’s cheese on top.
The second option simply involves stirring pesto into a baked spud’s soft centre.
Thirdly, the former Great British Bake-Off host recommends frying chopped spring onions in a pan, stirring them into the fluffy potato, and adding some soured cream to the mix before springing paprika on top.
Lastly, she fries off mushroom and bacon before (you guessed it) mashing it into the baked potato and covering the lot with grated cheese.
It’s a little like stuffed potato skins, though a careful home cook won’t have to scoop out the potatoes and put their middles in a separate bowl ― a strategic mash and stir should do.
Mary says we can fill the potatoes ready for their second bake up to four hours ahead, too.
Nigella Lawson also uses chargrilled peppers in her potato and pepper bake, though hers are chopped rather than, er, bejacketed.
Any other topping ideas?
Jamie Oliver has recipes for tuna mayo, baked beans and cheese, rainbow slaw, and red onion and bacon versions.
Delia Smith loves a classic sour cream and chive combo ― while Tom Kerridge has written up his fish pie jacket spud secrets.
Guess I’ll have to try them all (you know, for journalism...).