Recipe > Mains
Jacket Potato, Feta Cheese and Broad Beans
This recipe is a twist on the traditional British staple and even though this is a vegetarian dish I like to fry off diced chicken to add to the broad beans and eat this as a complete 'post-gym' recovery meal.

There are two ways to bake jacket potatoes. The first is to simply place the potato in the oven, the second (which I personally prefer) is to rub the potato with oil and liberally coat with sea salt and cracked black pepper. This second method adds extra bite and texture to the skin.

I always prefer to use fresh broad beans (which are always readily available in most supermarkets,) however if you can't get a hold of them; dried are fine, (just remember to allow a longer cooking time to rehydrate the beans).

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 Tblsp olive oil
2 x large potatoes
sea salt and cracked black pepper

For the bean mix:
225g / 8 oz broad beans
1 Tblsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 Tblsp tomato puree
250ml / 9fl oz vegetable stock
1/4 cup of fresh basil, thyme and oregano
2 Tsp sugar

140g / 5oz feta cheese

Mise-en-Place:
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 400°F
If the broad beans aren't fresh cook them in salted, boiling water for 30-45 minutes (or until tender)
Chop the garlic, slice the onions, chop the herbs
Prepare the stock
Cut the feta cheese into thick slices

Method:
Rub the jacket potato with oil, season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 45-60 minutes. (When cooked the potato should be soft to the touch and if inserted, a skewer should meet no resistance.)

Make the bean mix:
Heat the oil in a frying pan
'Brown off' the garlic
Add and 'brown off' the onions
Add the tomato puree and stir for 2 minutes
Add the broad beans and the remaining ingredients
Check seasoning

Bring the dish together:
Remove the jacket potato from the oven
Slice open, pour over the bean mix.
Serve with the feta cheese

Adjust:
Broad bean mix:
Too bitter: add a touch more sugar
Too dry/ thick: add more stock or hot water
Too bland: add more herbs, salt and pepper

Science behind the dish:
Why tomato puree thickens sauces
Pureed tomato (unlike whole tomatoes) is an ensemble of torn and broken particles (this is due to the tomato being ground and broken down during the pureeing process). These particles and fragments become suspended in fluids to which they are added, blocking and slowing the movement of water particles thus causing them to thicken

Chef Tip: How to speed up the cooking time of jacket potatoes
To reduce cooking time, partially cook in oven until the skin has coloured (which is where alot of the flavour comes from) then simply transfer to the microwave to finish cooking.
No microwave? Par-cook the potato in boiling water (10-15 minutes) then finish in the oven at high temperature

Cowboy Tip: It happens all to frequently where one of my chefs will have forgotten to put the tray of 40 potatoes into the oven in time. To avoid panic deep fry for 5 minutes then finish in microwave