Superfast Oven-Baked Potatoes

So there are a million tutorials out there showing you how to do quick, microwave baked potatoes. I don't know about you, but I DON'T HAVE A MICROWAVE! I am also quite disorganised about getting lunch or dinner ready on time...I only remember to start cooking around the time most people expect to be eating. Not good when you have a hungry 2 year old. So I had a quick think, and came up with this superfast oven method of baking crispy skinned, stuffed potatoes, in LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR. You are talking half an hour, maximum, from taking the potatoes out of the cupboard, to serving up onto your plate. How cool is that?!

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
• Wash and cut out any bad bits from your potatoes (same as you would normally do).
• Slice the potatoes in half length-ways.
• Hollow out the potato halves with a suitable knife (e.g. a paring knife, although I just used a slicing knife as pictured). Just scoop out the middle part of the potato, no need to be too precise or neat, leaving at least 5mm next to the skin. Put the middle parts aside.
• Put your potato halves face down on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
  
• Pop into the oven and bake for around 20 minutes.
• While your skins are cooking, take your potato middles and boil until soft.
• Drain and mash: add a little milk (optional) and grated cheese (also optional) or other filling of your choice (tuna?) before mashing. The possibilities are endless.*
• Take potato skins out of the oven, turn them over and prick to make sure they are soft.
• Stuff and serve. You can pop them back in the oven for a few minutes if you want them piping hot or grate cheese on top to melt.

 This method also works for baked sweet potatoes.

*If you didn't want to stuff your potato skins with other ingredients, you could in theory just mash the potato "as is" to pop back into the skins, or leave it out and fill the potato skins with other ingredients. Experiment and have fun with it!