Creamy Garlic Jacket Potatoes

A baked potato or jacket potato has a crispy, crunchy skin with a fluffy interior.  It is stuffed with fillings such as butter, cheese, ham, bacon bits or chicken.  Nutritionally, a large percentage of the vitamins, minerals, and trace elements in a potato are found within or immediately below the skin.  A baked potato (dressed down) is a healthy low calorie, high fiber food that offers significant protection against cardiovascular disease and cancer.  It is best to use specially labeled potatoes that are meant to be cooked as baked potatoes. These are usually white and starchy and do not have a sweet or strong taste to them.  Although Peru is essentially the birthplace of the potato, today over 99% of all cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies indigenous to south-central Chile.  Potatoes are the world’s fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat and maize. 

Makes 6
recipe adapted from Woman & Home magazine
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3 large baking potatoes
200ml (7fl oz) half-fat crème fraiche
2 whole garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves
50g grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 200c (400f).  Thoroughly wash the potatoes, pat dry and prick all over with a fork.  Brush with oil and season with salt.  This will add taste to the potato and prevent it from drying out. It will also make it tender and fluffy as it will keep the humidity inside the potato.  Bake for 90 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork.

Preheat the grill to medium.  In a small saucepan, gently hear the crème fraiche with the garlic and bay leaves.  Season to taste.  Halve the cooked potatoes, scoop out most of the flesh and put into a bowl.  Remove the bay leaves from the crème fraiche and pour over the potato flesh.  Mash well.  Put the potato back into the jackets and top with the cheese.  Grill until cheese is golden.


The Culinary Chase’s Note:  To choose the best potato for baking,  avoid buying ones that are wrinkled, have begun to sprout or have green patches (green usually indicates sun burn and will taste bitter).  Look for potatoes with uniform shapes and sizes as they’ll cook more evenly.  Turn the potatoes over halfway through the baking time to prevent browning of the undersides where they touch the baking tray or oven rack.