One of my greatest failings as a parent is that I have produced children who don’t like mashed potato. How is that even possible? I mean potato, unholy amounts of butter and milk with plenty of salt and pepper, what is not to love. So, when I made these for #everyfuckingnight I was pretty nervous I’d be left eating them for days, but I totally tricked them with bacon, sourcream and cheese! Huzzah!
I based mine on a Pioneer Woman‘s recipe but used violently less butter and completely forgot to add the milk. I also didn’t have/couldn’t find the potatoes on steroids PW used.
While I’ve put some measures in this I strongly advise you to trust yourself and go largely by sight. PW used 8 super big potatoes, I used 6 smaller mid sized ones, probably about a kilo? So look, That’s what I did and they worked a treat.
- 5-6 mid sized potatoes (ideally use much bigger ones and follow PW's recipe linked to above)
- oil
- 4-6 slices streaky bacon, or 3-4 traditional rashers
- 1 tbsp butter, I really think it's optional
- about 125g or heaped ½cup sour cream, I just used a large tablespoon and used about ½ a 30ml tub
- good pinch of salt and cracked pepper
- 2 good handfuls of grated cheese
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- Preheat your oven to 200C
- Rub potatoes with oil, place on baking tray and bake for 45 minutes or until they're soft on the inside and the skins are slightly crisp
- While they're cooking, fry the bacon
- Place the bacon, sour cream, butter and seasonings in a bowl
- Once the potatoes are cooked, hold them in a tea-towel and cut down through the middle lengthways
- Scoop the potato into the bowl with the bacon and sour cream, don't be too precious here, just try not to scoop through the skin
- Use a masher and mash up the potato and bacon
- Stir in one good handful of cheese and the spring onions
- Spoon back into the potato skins, now, when I did this I had two potato skins left over, just so you know the same might happen to you
- Put back on the baking tray, sprinkle over more cheese and pop back in the oven
- Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is all melty and golden
