Jacket Potatoes

For a lazy evening in front of the telly, jacket potatoes are a great meal. Stuff them with your favourite fillings and eat them piping hot. I found these easy enough to make and they really fill you up.

Jacket Potatoes

Ingredients
4 large potatoes (about 250g each)
55g butter
115g ham
115g cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200  ̊̊C/400  ̊̊F/gas mark 6. Wash and wipe the potatoes. Prick with a fork and place on a baking tray.
2. Cook the potatoes in the oven for 60-75 minutes until they are soft inside and the skins are crisp. Remove them from the oven.
3. Cut each potato in half and scoop out the soft insides into a mixing bowl. Take care not to damage the skins.
4. Mash the potato well with a fork. Add the butter and the salt and pepper.
5. Place the skins on a baking tray. Chop the ham and put some into each shell. Spoon in the potato.
6. Grate the cheese and sprinkle on potatoes. Put them back in the oven and cook for a further 15 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

Rachel Allen's Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Cream

This is a great pasta dish from Rachel Allen’s Rachel’s Favourite Food. I think this is one of my favourite pasta dishes ever. They make this a lot at Ballymaloe Cookery School, and people always love it. Just leave out the sausage for a vegetarian pasta sauce. It also freezes well. I met the wonderful Rachel Allen while my Mam was on a course in 2008.

Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Cream 

Ingredients

25g Butter
700g ripe Tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or use 2x 400g tinned tomatoes)
4 cloves Garlic, crushed
2 tsp Rosemary, chopped
1 pinch fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp caster sugar
225g chorizo sausages, or kabanossi sausage, cut into ½cm slices
1 pinch dried red chilli flakes
175ml cream
2 tbsp Parsley, chopped
500g penne pasta, or use rigatoni or farfalle
50g Parmesan, grated

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the chopped tomatoes, garlic and rosemary.
2. Season with salt, pepper and sugar (the sugar really helps the tomatoes).
3. Cook until the tomatoes have just begun to soften, about 5 mins.
4. Add the sausage to the pan with the chilli flakes, cream and half the chopped parsley. 5. Allow to simmer with the lid off until the mixture has reduced by half, stirring frequently.
6. Take off the heat and taste for seasoning.
7. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water, into which you have added 1 dst salt, until it is just cooked, then drain and toss with the sauce.
8. Put into a great big serving bowl and scatter with the grated parmesan cheese and the rest of the parsley. 

NOTE FOR COOKING PASTA If you need to cook your pasta slightly ahead of time, keep about 50ml of the pasta cooking water in with the pasta and a good glug of olive oil.