I’m tight on time lately, so want to have more jacket potato dinners. What toppings can I use other than tuna salad or baked beans and cheddar?
Paloma, Colorado, US
The key with the filling for a jacket potato is to use something that is, er, filling (which is why tuna or baked beans work so well) and to have a rich, creamy element that brings everything together, which is why mayonnaise is such a classic combo with tuna and grated cheese with beans.
Try that mayo with a different protein, though – it works especially well with leftover roast chicken, chopped ham or prawns, say. Or use coleslaw instead, maybe with some chopped fried bacon or pancetta mixed in. Or take the sauce in a curried direction with the likes of coronation chicken; for vegetarians, simply replace the chicken with chickpeas or butter beans.
Tahini also covers the creamy element that jacket potatoes demand. Pile roast aubergine into a baked potato with some quick-pickled cabbage or chillies, or a splodge of zhoug, drizzle with tahini sauce and you’ve essentially got the ingredients for my favourite pitta sandwich, sabih, piled into a jacket spud; it’s also already so rich that you don’t even need the usual compulsory butter, so it’s vegan, too. Other vegetables (courgettes, mushrooms, peppers), cooked until they’re so soft that they seem almost buttery, are another good call.
Tonnato is another great sauce idea: rich, creamy, and punchy with tuna, anchovies and capers, it’s heaven with a soft-boiled egg on top. It keeps in the fridge for a couple of days, too, so make extra and play around with it for your next jacket potato supper. Don’t restrict yourself to tinned tuna, either: tinned mackerel, mussels and sardines all work in jacket spuds, perhaps stirred into aïoli with a few chopped chives or spring onions.
As for the cheese, think beyond cheddar. Whether it’s tangy feta or intense gorgonzola, few jacket potatoes won’t welcome some crumbled, grated or melted cheese. And don’t stop there: cooked vegetables, past-their-best herbs, leftover ragu … just pile them all in.
