LOADED BAKED POTATOES

ingredients | serves 4 | time 1 hr 25 mins

4 large baking potatoes • 1 tbsp olive oil • 200g smoked bacon lardons • 1 bunch salad onions, trimmed and finely sliced • 15g unsalted butter • 100ml soured cream • 2 tbsp snipped chives • 100g mature cheddar cheese, grated

step 1

Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Prick the potatoes with a fork, brush with the oil, season and place directly on the top shelf of the oven. Bake for 1 hour, until the skin is crisp and the flesh is soft to the point of a knife.

step 2

Meanwhile, put the lardons in a cold, dry frying pan over a low heat. Cook very slowly for 10 minutes, until the fat begins to run. Turn the heat up to medium, then after 1 minute add the salad onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes more, until the lardons have turned golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

step 3

Once the potatoes are cooked, hold them with a tea towel, halve lengthways and scoop out most of the flesh, reserving the sturdy shell. Roughly mash the flesh in a bowl with the butter and cream, the bacon mixture, 1/2 the chives and just under 2/3 of the grated cheese. Season and spoon back into the upturned potato skins. Put on a baking sheet. Scatter with the remaining grated cheese. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes. Sprinkle over the remaining chives before serving.

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