CHEESY CHILI STUFFED SPUDS

I'm British, therefore I love potatoes. Fact!  But even for me there is only so many times you can have mash, chips or roast potatoes until it starts to get just a little bit tiring. Here is a great recipe for jazzing up a roast potato using ricotta, onion, jalapeño and chili jam. So simple to make that you'll never look at a potato the same way again and trust me when I tell you this, these are one of the most delicious things I've ever made. Fact!

Ricotta is one of those love or hate cheeses. When I mentioned this recipe to people it was either sounds of "Yummers" or "Blergh". Of your not a ricotta fan then do not despair, replace it with a different cheese (even a cream cheese would work). I prefer ricotta in this recipe as it's soft nature makes it easy to mash into the potato and works really well with the chili jam. If you do swap, make sure you get something that still compliments the chili flavours. 

If you don't have chili jam either then simply use some sweet chili sauce instead but not too much as your potatoes will be soggy in the centre. The reason I like to use jam is because it's sticky and firmer texture helps to bind your potato filling together. Again, if your not a super duper chili fan then leave out the jalapenos too, you'll still get a nice chili warmth from the jam, I just like a good kick to my spuds.

Give your self a good two hours to make up this recipe as you still need to initially roast you potatoes but the wait will be truly worth it! 

Cheesy Chili Stuffed Spuds

6 Medium Sized Potatoes

100g Ricotta

Hand Full Chopped Basil

2 Tbsp Chili Jam

4 Finely Chopped Spring Onions

2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Jalapenos

A Few Tbsp Milk (If Needed)

Salt And Pepper To Season

Approximately 6 Tbsp Breadcrumbs

Approximately 2 Tsp Smoked Paprika

1. Whack your oven straight on too 220 degrees (200 fan). Wash your potatoes under cold water and rub some olive oil onto the skins. Chuck straight in the oven and bake for around 50 minutes until the skins are crispy and you can glide a knife through the potatoes. Remove from the oven and leave to one side to cool. Reduce the oven heat to 180 (160 fan).
2. Whilst the potatoes cool, please the ricotta, basil, jam, onion and jalapenos into a big bowl and give everything a good mix until well combined.
3. Once cool, spoon the potatoes out of their skins into the bowl with the other mixed ingredients. Don't go mad, try and leave a thin film of potato in the skins. This will help them to retain their shape.
4. Mash the potatoes into the other ingredients until everything is well combined. The mixture should be slightly moist and easy to mix with a spoon. If its dry and stiff then your potatoes were slightly too big. If this is the case add in a tbsp of milk at a time until the mixture loosens enough. Without this slightmoisture the filling will dry out completely in the oven during baking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Line a large baking tray with baking paper and then spoon the mixture back into the potato skins and arrange on the baking tray. Heap it all in, no one likes waste!
6. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs followed by the paprika and then place in the oven to bake for around 15-20 minutes until the tops of the filling look crispy.

Remove from the oven and serve piping hot. There is so much you could do with these spuds! Have a big plate to yourself, make loads as part of a dinner party spread or dish them out at a family dinner as a side dish. There really is an endless number of serving options. It's such a great versatile dish.

A fabulous new and easy way to serve your potatoes at dinner time. Say goodbye to the mash and wave hello to the stuffed spud, the saviour of the dinner table!