Phil Vickery's pimped-up jacket potato
They’ve become a lockdown lunchtime staple, so Phil Vickery is showing us how to give our jacket potatoes a bit of a revamp.
From prawn cocktail to a BLT masterpiece, it's time to pimp up our potatoes.
Cauliflower cheese baked potato
Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 large baking potatoes
600mls milk1 x 10g vegetable stock cube, crumbled60g soft butter50g flour2 tsp English mustard200g grated strong cheddar4 tbsp chopped parsleySaltPepper
1 x roasted cauliflower (see recipe below)Extra grated cheese, optionalSmoked paprika
Method
1. Heat the oven to 180C fan, gas 5
2. Score the potatoes around the girth of the potato to stop them bursting when hot. Slide a teaspoon or metal skewer through the centre and pop into the oven, cook for 1 hour 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, to make your sauce, pour the milk into a thick bottomed pan and add the stock cube, and bring to a gentle simmer
4. In a bowl, mix the butter, flour and mustard together, then whisk it into the simmering milk. The sauce will thicken pretty much straight away, then remove from the stove.
5. Add 100g of the cheese and the parsley and season and mix well
6. Slice the cooked jackets in half lengthways and place all 8 halves into a baking tray so they fit snugly
7. Place the warm baked cauli into a bowl and add the sauce and fold together carefully, but well
8. Spoon the mix evenly over the halved jackets, top with the rest of cheese and a little paprika and re-bake in the oven or under a grill until nicely coloured, then serve
Cauliflower cheese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower, broken into florets4-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oilSaltPepperAll the green stalks from the outside of the cauliflower, chopped
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C, gas 5
2. Place the cauliflower into the tray and drizzle over the oil and season well with salt and pepper
3. Place into the oven and cook for 20 minutes, then add the chopped green stalks and cook for a further 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally so the cauli cooks and takes on a really nice colour
4. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then use in recipes
Jacket spud prawn cocktail
Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 large baking potatoes200g mayonnaise4 spring onions, finely chopped2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger2-3 tbsp chopped fresh chives2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander2 tbsp tomato ketchupDash of Worcestershire sauceDash Tabasco250g peeled cooked prawnsSaltGround black pepperHalf a lemon50g melted butter8 tbsp roughly finely chopped firm lettuce such as little gem or Romaine or CosChopped chives to garnish
Method
1. Heat the oven to 180C fan, gas 5
2. Cut the potatoes in half across not lengthways
3. Heat a large frying pan and add a touch of oil. Place the potatoes cut side down into the pan so you have 8 halves.
4. Pop into the oven, cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until they are cooked through.
5. Meanwhile, mix together the mayonnaise, onions, ginger, chives, coriander, tomato ketchup and a dash of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco in a large bowl
6. Add the prawns and mix together, then season with salt and pepper and a little lemon juice to taste. If possible, leave to marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
7. Once cooked, carefully spoon the cooked spud into a bowl trying not to break the skins and mix with a little butter, salt, pepper and lettuce
8. Pile back into the potato shells, the spoon over the prawns sprinkle with the chives
Baked sweet potato BLT
Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 large sweet potatoes, washed well and cut into 3 even slices lengthways, skin on8 tbsp cornflour, arrowroot or tapioca starchGround pepper
6-8 tbsp mayo4-6 tsp sweet chilli sauce12 slices crispy cooked dry cure bacon4 large, ripe tomatoes sliced1 ittle gem lettuce, leaves peeled off and rolled with a rolling pin to flatten slightly
Method
1. Cut your sweet potatoes and soak them in iced water for approximately 1 hour
2. Preheat the oven to 180C fan, gas 5
3. Once the potatoes are soaked, drain, and dry each slice with a kitchen towel and dust in the cornflour or any starch
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until crispy and well coloured. Once cooked remove from the oven.
5. Lay 1 slice of cooked potato onto a plate add a little mayo, a dash of chilli sauce, 3 slices of bacon and a few slices of tomato
6. Top with a slice of potato, little more mayo, chilli sauce, and leaf or 2 of the lettuce, and 2-3 slices tomato
7. Top with the final slice of cooked potato
8. Press down slightly, place two cocktail sticks in the potato stack and cut in half on a slight angle. Serve.