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Makes 12 potatoes
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Oven temperature: 200°C
- 12 medium-sized pickled red jalapeño chillies
- about 60ml full-fat cream cheese
- 6 rashers of streaky bacon, halved
- 12 large Mediterranean potatoes
- about 45ml olive oil
- 30ml butter
- sea salt flakes
1. Preheat the oven. Cut a slit in each of the jalapeños and remove any seeds; pat dry with paper towels. Spoon a little cream cheese into each chilli and wrap a strip of bacon around each one. Place the chillies on a baking tray and roast for about 15 minutes until the bacon is cooked but before the cheese starts to ooze out.
2. Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 15 minutes until just soft. Drain and allow to cool slightly. Using an apple corer or the tip of your vegetable peeler, carefully make a hollow in each potato – make sure it's big enough to accommodate a chilli popper.
3. Carefully insert a cooked popper into each hollow and, if you prefer, close the top of the potato with the removed flesh. Arrange the potatoes snugly next to each other in a roasting pan; drizzle with olive oil and dot with butter. Season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper and bake until golden brown and crispy (about 40 minutes). Turn over once, halfway through the baking time.
