Jacket potatoes with roast lamb mince stuffing

Prepare the potatoes
Preheat the oven to 200°C degrees. Wash the potatoes and pat dry. Place the potatoes in a circle in the microwave and cook on high for 10 minutes. Leave them to cool down. Cut each potato in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh to make a shell. Chop the scooped-out potato into smaller pieces, put in a bowl and set aside.

Drizzle the potato shells with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and melted butter. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 20 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven when done.

Prepare the lamb filling
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, add the carrots and celery and cook 2-3 minutes.

Add the chopped potato and cook for a further 10- 15 minutes until  the vegetables start to caramelize.

Move the vegetables to the side of the pan and add the mince in the center of the pan. Break the mince up with a wooden spoon, add the meat stock powder  and let the meat start to brown.

Add the lamb stock and deglaze the pan, loosening the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, reduce the heat and leave to simmer until cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, place the mince into a dish and add the mint jelly.

Reduce the pan juices until thickened and set aside to use as the gravy

Heat the peas and corn, place a spoonful of each in the potato shells and top up with the mince mixture, drizzle some of the gravy over each potato shell and garnish with parsley.

Serve with a fresh cucumber and mint salad.

Supported by the Red Meat Industry of SA – Recipes and styling by Gerrie du Rand and photos by Michelle Parkin.