Baked potatoes with mince

Ingredients

• 4 baking potato, scrubbed clean
• 250g extra-lean minced beef
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 handful cup or button mushrooms, finely chopped
• 100ml reduced-salt vegetable stock
• 1 teapsoon tomato purée

Side Salad

• 1 handful shredded lettuce leaves
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 1 handful cherry tomatoes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas mark 6. Prick potatoes all over with a fork before baking for 1 hour, or until tender. Carefully push a sharp knife into the centre to check they’re soft.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large saucepan and add the mince, a handful at a time, cooking until browned.
3. Add the onion and garlic, cook for 1 minute, then add the mushrooms, stock and tomato purée. Stir well until hot, then simmer, part-covered, for 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Once everything’s ready, split the baked potatoes open and divide the filling between them. Serve with some watercress, or the lettuce, onion and tomato side salad.

If you have a microwave, you can save time (and money) by cooking the potatoes in there instead. Put the pricked potatoes on a microwave-safe plate and cook on full power for 4 minutes. Turn them over and repeat for a further 4 minutes, or until cooked through.

You can use any type of mince you like for this – pork or turkey work well, as does vegetarian mince.

Any leftover mince goes great in a wrap, topped with a spoon of low-fat plain natural yoghurt and a grating of lower-fat cheese. Let it cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge, and use within 3 days. It also freezes brilliantly!