Cottage pie jacket potatoes

Instructions

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Using a fork, pierce potatoes in six places and place directly onto a rack in the oven. Bake for 1 hour, or until tender when tested with a skewer.

2 Meanwhile, spray a large non-stick frying pan with olive oil and set over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion for about 3–4 minutes, or until softening. Add the beef. Cook, breaking mince up with a wooden spoon, for 4–5 minutes, or until browned.

3 Reduce heat to medium. Add the carrot, celery and garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until sauce has thickened. Stir in peas. Remove from heat.

4 Once the potatoes are cooked, remove from the oven. Increase the oven temperature to 200°C. Cut a small lid from the top of each potato. Carefully scoop out flesh with a dessert spoon, leaving a 1cm border of potato flesh, and without breaking the skin. Place potato flesh into a bowl. Add the milk and parsley and season with pepper. Mash until smooth. Beat with wooden spoon until fluffy. Then stir in the grated cheese.

5 Spoon beef mixture into the potato skins, gently pressing to evenly fill the potatoes. Top with the mash and rough with a fork. Spray mash with olive oil. Bake for 25–30 minutes until mash is golden. Sprinkle potatoes with extra parsley and serve.