Carbonara Jacket Potatoes

Preheat the oven and prepare the potatoes

• Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.
• Prick the potatoes all over with a fork (this helps to release steam when cooking for crispy skin). Rub the skin all over with a dash of oil and rub some flaky sea salt into the skin (this helps to draw out moisture for a crispy potato).

Bake the potatoes

• Pop the potatoes straight onto the oven shelf and bake for 20 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 200°C/180°C fan and bake for a further 45 minutes - 1 hour until cooked through.

Make the carbonara style filling

• Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Finely chop the onion. Grate the Parmesan (if not already grated).
• Heat a dash of oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and cook the onion for 5 - 7 minutes. Stir in the lardons and cook until crispy.
• Beat the eggs in a bowl then add the lardons and onion, making sure to scrape all the cooking juices into the bowl for extra flavour.

Stuff the potatoes with the filling

• Remove the potatoes from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes.
• Score across the top then remove most of the potato flesh and pop this into the bowl with the filling. Sprinkle in the dried oregano and most of the Parmesan (keeping some to garnish) and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that the Parmesan and lardons can be salty.
• Spoon the filling into the potatoes and sprinkle the reserved Parmesan on top.

Finish baking the potatoes

• Pop the stuffed potatoes on a baking tray and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes until the filling is golden.

Plate up!

• Plate up the carbonara jacket potatoes with the mixed leaf salad and enjoy!