Cheese and Onion Stuffed Jackets for the Whole Family

This was an improvised dish after I'd got some potatoes in the oven and I was determined to squeeze a small amount of vegetable into my son's diet (it had been 'one of those' days food wise) and I was a bit lacking in things 'suitable' for filling a jacket spud.

What is it as well that salad feels right with a regular jacket spud but if you then stuff it, boiled or steamed veg suddenly seems ok?  Not sure but I wanted to go down the boiled vegetables accompanying route so this is what I came out with.

Normally I make more 'interesting' food for my son but this was pure comfort food which somehow feels right for the autumn which seems to have come in with a bang rather than a whimper this year!

Cheese and onion stuffed jackets -  serves 1 adult and 1 toddler easily

Ingredients

2 baking potatoes
1 onion
Spray oil or a tiny bit of olive oil
Very small knob of butter
50g of extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar, grated

Method

Bake your potatoes, or better still, use ones you'd baked earlier when the oven was on already to save energy.

In the meantime, put the onions and spray oil in a frying pan.  Heat then cover with a large lid (I use the one off a casserole dish, it doesn't fit perfectly but it works), lowering the heat stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.  This gets them super soft.  Once the 10 minutes are passed, add in a smidge of butter and up the heat, frying until they colour slightly without burning.  Put to one side.

When the potatoes are cooked and cool enough to handle or cold, halve the potatoes and scoop out the flesh.  Mash, (see comments below) and stir in the onions and approx 30g of the cheddar.

Refill the shells.  Put in a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  Bake for 15-20 minutes at approx 180oC or until hot through and cooked.

The filling would be great for babies on the soft lump stage of weaning.

If you're nervous about mashing potato and lumps, get yourself a ricer.  They are so easy to use.

Make it Thrifty:
Cook jacket potatoes in the oven when cooking other things, especially a roast.  You can make stuffed jackets like this or just use the centre as mashed potato.  You can also make jacket potatoes cook in the oven quicker by skewering through the centre with a metal skewer.  This helps conduct heat to the middle.
Alternatively cook the potatoes in the microwave before scooping out and finishing in the oven (but it's not quite the same.)