By no means is my dad a fussy eater, but unlike everyone else in the household, he’s not a massive fan of jacket potatoes. This dish was actually invented to try and please everyone, and, to my surprise, it did! It’s cheap and simple to make, and serves as a great quick supper or indulgent lunch.

Ingredients

• 4x jacket potatoes
• 180g ricotta
• 240g spinach
• 2-3 tbsp of low fat crème fraîche
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• 1 tbsp butter
• A good grating of fresh nutmeg
• Freshly ground salt and pepper
• If you want to make a meaty addition, feel free to add some pancetta.

Method

Firstly, preheat the oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / gas mark 8. Take a fork and prick your jackets really well to stop them from exploding in the oven. When the oven is at the right temperature, place the potatoes in the centre of the oven and put a timer on for an hour.

After an hour, give the jackets a check to see whether they are cooked all the way through. Don’t worry if they’re not done at this point, just leave them in for longer until the centres are soft and fluffy (I often find another 15 minutes does the trick). Once baked just right, take the potatoes out of the oven and leave to cool slightly whilst you prepare the additions for the filling.

Take a large non-stick pan and melt the required butter on a low heat. When the butter has melted, add the minced garlic, and fry it gently until it starts to smell aromatic, ensuring it doesn’t brown. Add to the pan the spinach, and cook it down, stirring the now garlic infused butter through it all.

Once it has reduced in size significantly, grind a good amount of salt and pepper into the pan. Now stir in the ricotta and fresh nutmeg, and have a cheeky little taste.

In this next stage, please be cautious, because the potatoes, though they have been cooling, can still be incredibly hot. Cut each potato in half and scoop the flesh into the pan with the spinach and ricotta filling, being careful not to damage the skins. Next, give the mixture a good stir and season to taste. To make the filling a little looser, add the crème fraîche.

Now refill the potato skins with the mixture and sprinkle on top the grated parmesan.

The skins are now almost ready, all that’s needed is to brown the tops and melt the cheese. To do this, heat a grill up to medium and place the filled potato skins underneath for a few minutes, keeping a close eye on them.

I usually serve these with a lightly dressed salad.

I hope you find these as yummy as we do! Be sure to keep an eye out for my next recipe, a tasty Mac and Cheese Gratin.

Lydia Signe x