- 2 baking potatoes
- A 200g pack of unsmoked lardons
- 1 onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Demerara sugar
- A 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- A 400g tin of cannellini beans
- A 50g punnet of watercress
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Baking tray
- Deep frying pan or wok
- Colander or sieve
- 1.
Heat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork or skewer. Pop on a plate. Microwave on high for 10 mins till they’re tender and cooked through (see our tip if you don’t have a microwave).
- 2.
Using oven gloves or tongs, transfer the jacket potatoes to a baking tray. Drizzle 1 tbsp oil over the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 mins till the skins are crisp.
- 3.
Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and grate or crush the garlic. Warm a deep frying pan or wok over a medium heat. Fry the lardons over a medium heat for 2 mins till they’re starting to brown (you shouldn’t need to add oil as the fat should run out as they cook).
- 4.
Add the onion to the lardons. Season. Stir and fry for 5 mins till soft. Add the garlic. Stir and fry for 1 min.
- 5.
Add 1 tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp sugar and the chopped tomatoes to the lardons. Drain and rinse the beans. Add them to the pan. Cover and bring up to a simmer. Cook over a medium heat for 10 mins till thickened. Stir every so often while it cooks.
- 6.
Pick out any thick stalks from the watercress. Drizzle ½ tbsp oil over the watercress. Season.
- 7.
Split the jacket potatoes in half. Fluff the potato up with a fork. Top with the baked beans. Serve with the watercress on the side.
- Tip
If you don’t have a microwave, you can cook your jacket potatoes in the oven. Rub them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pop in an oven heated to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4 for 1 ½ hrs till they’re tender to the touch and the skins are crisp. To help them cook quickly, you can push a metal skewer all the way through the middle.