Chilli Cheese Jacket Potatoes

Life’s too short to scoop out the insides of a jacket potato and put a mixture of ingredients back in. So in a startling show of sexism I got my wife to make Chilli Cheese Jacket Potatoes from Two Chubby Cubs instead. Wait, wait….. I can explain. I tend to do most of the cooking during the week in our home. That, combined with my heavy-handed nature around the kitchen, called for her dulcet culinary skills on this occasion.

This recipe isn’t a messy job per se, but it does require a more delicate touch, so you don’t destroy your jackets when scooping out the potato and putting the mixture of bacon, grated cheese, soft cheese and chillies back in to finish off in the oven. Unsurprisingly, the addition of the siracha sauce into the potato mixture gives this meal quite a punch!

Personally, I loved it. But the high calorie count (500 per serving), length of cooking time (although you could do the jackets in the microwave) and faff means this is unlikely to be a regular on our menu. However, if I was served this in a café it’s something I’d definitely enjoy.

Recipe: Chilli Cheese Jacket Potatoes

Calories: 500 per serving

Serves: 4

Book: Two Chubby Cubs – The Cookbook

Prep time: Approx 20 mins

Cooking time: Approx 1 hour and 25 mins

Ingredients:

• 4 medium baking potatoes
• 200g bacon medallions
• 160g reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (grated)
• 150g light soft cheese
• ½ tsp garlic granules
• ½ tsp onion granules
• 2 tsp siracha sauce
• 3 green chillies (deseeded and finely diced)
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 4 tbsp reduced-fat crème fraiche (to serve)
• Fresh chives (chopped, to serve)
• Olive oil

Cost per portion: Approx £1.48* (based on Tesco’s prices, Feb 2022)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan / gas mark 6.

Prick the potatoes all over with a fork, rub them with a little olive oil, and bake in the oven for 70 minutes. Remove them from the oven and leave for 10 minutes to cool.

Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan over a high heat and add the bacon. Stir it round the pan until crisp, then remove from the heat.

Slice the top quarter off each potato and scoop the soft insides into a bowl. Mix in the Cheddar, soft cheese, garlic and onion granules, bacon, siracha, chillies and black pepper, reserving a tablespoon each of the bacon, Cheddar and chillies.

Spoon the potato mix back into the potatoes and top each one with the reserved ingredients. Bake in the oven for a further 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and top with a tablespoon of crème fraiche and a sprinkling of chives.