Jacket Potatoes with Bacon and Sweet Chilli Sauce

11:48 pm on 5 June 2009

My kids love jacket potatoes, and bacon, and sweet corn, and sweet chilli sauce (especially)! Putting them all together makes for an easy and tasty mid-week meal that they can make themselves. Serve with salad.

(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

  • 6 large baking potatoes (I use agria potatoes and buy them still covered in dirt)
  • salt & freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 sticks celery, washed and sliced
  • butter
  • 3/4 cup canned whole kernel sweet corn, drained
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1/2 cup milk, heated when required
  • 1 cup grated tasty cheese
  • 300g NZ free-range bacon rashers
  • 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
  • sweet chilli sauce

Method

1. Scrub potatoes, sprinkle with salt while still wet and transfer to a rack in an oven preheated to 200°C (fanbake). Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or more, turning once or twice, until the skins are nice and crunchy.

2. Put onion and celery in small pan with a large knob of butter and cook gently, covered with a lid, until tender and translucent. Add corn and turn off heat.

3. Put diced tomatoes in a sieve and drain 10 minutes.

4. When potatoes are ready – crackling crisp skins and tender pulp – remove to a board and immediately cut open. Scoop out flesh and put in a bowl. Season with salt, mix in a lump of butter and the hot milk, then the cheese and mix together.

5. Grill bacon until crisp.

6. Pile potato back into skins and put potatoes on a serving platter. Add parsley and tomatoes to onion mixture and spoon over potatoes. Top with crisp rashers of bacon and drizzle with sweet chilli sauce. Serve immediately.