Sweet Jacket Potatoes 2 Ways: Homemade baked beans and Tuna Avocado Salad  

“What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow” – A. A. Milne

We think it’s fair to say that the jacket potato has become something of a student staple, and rightly so. With this recipe we’ve reworked this go-to in a couple of different ways so that you never get bored of jacket potatoes. Firstly, we’ve used sweet potatoes for something different, but by all means stick to a normal potato if you prefer. Secondly, we’ve taken inspiration from two classic fillings – baked beans and tuna mayo – to give you two new filling options which come together in the time that the potato takes to bake. Feel free to change the beans too – kidney and black beans are just our favourites!

Serves: 2 (with leftovers)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

What you need:

• 2 sweet potatoes 
• For the baked beans:
  • 1 x 400g tin kidney beans
  • 1 x 400g tin black beans
  • 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • Dash of Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • Salt and pepper

• For the tuna avocado salad:1 tin tuna (in spring water)
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • Juice of ½ a lemon
  • 1 tbsp natural yoghurt
  • Salt and pepper

How to make:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
2. Wash and pierce the potatoes on all sides, then place onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for 50 minutes. Turn over halfway through the cooking time.
3. For the baked beans: In an ovenproof dish, mix together the kidney beans, black beans, and chopped tomatoes with the spices, seasoning, and tomato puree. Bake for 50 minutes. Stir a couple of times during the cooking time. Adjust flavour at the end adding more spices etc. if desired.
4. For the tuna avocado salad: Mash an avocado in a bowl then add the lemon juice and yoghurt. Drain and flake the tuna before adding it to the creamy avocado mixture. Season well.
5. Remove the potatoes from the oven and cut a cross shaped incision on the top of the potato. Top with your filling of choice and serve with a side salad.

–  Caitlin Britt & Naomi Osborne