Culture

These easily prepared stuffed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food. The potatoes take at least an hour to cook, but little other preparation is required. Go Mexican and fill ’em up with chilli beans (I like the hot varieties because I’m a sucker for spice), cheese and fresh chilli. Or play it a little more sophisticated with glorious basil pesto, sour cream and a throw-it-together sort-of-salsa. Beyond this, the combinations are only limited by your imagination. Pull out the canned goods, be it spaghetti or creamed corn. Crispy bacon, flash-fried mushrooms and a few cheeky slices of brie would also go down a treat. Attempt to demolish the potatoes without the filling dribbling down your chin.

Ingredients

• 8 large, floury potatoes
• A few lugs of olive oil
• Freshly cracked sea salt
• 2 tomatoes, quartered and de-seeded then finely diced
• ½ small red onion, finely diced
• ½ tsp white sugar
• A few pinches of salt
• 220g tub of light sour cream
• Small container of basil pesto
• 420g can of chilli beans
• 2 large handfuls of grated cheese
• 1 small fresh red chilli, sliced

Method

01 | Select floury potatoes which are well suited to baking. I usually go for a red-skinned variety such as Red Rascals. Keeping the skin on, give them a quick wash and a pat dry then coat liberally with olive oil. Place on a baking tray, crack the sea salt over the potatoes (use a few pinches of regular salt if you don’t have this) and bake at 180°C for 1-1½ hours, or until completely tender when pierced in the middle with skewer or knife.

02 | Meanwhile, prepare the salsa. Combine the tomatoes, onion, sugar and salt in a bowl. Cover with cling film and leave at room temperature for at least an hour. The tomatoes will release a lot of liquid, so drain the bulk of this off before you use the salsa.

03 | When the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the oven. Allow to cool slightly, then slice the tops off and carefully scoop out a few tablespoons of the flesh, keeping the sides of the potato intact.

04 | Heat the chilli beans in the microwave for about two minutes, or until piping hot. Alternatively, play it old school and heat over the stovetop until piping hot, stirring frequently. Divide the beans among four of the potatoes, top with cheese and return to the oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Top with the chilli. I usually cheat and rehydrate dried chillies in freshly boiled water for a few minutes, then slice those up. They are cheaper, but still pack a punch.

05 | Top the other four potatoes with the tomato salsa, sour cream and basil pesto.

06 | Serve with a green salad or some freshly steamed vegetables.

$18 - Feeds four