One of my favorite things to do when I go out on the road is to wander through supermarkets. I have brought home tons of jams and salsas, among other things that can get through TSA. But the local flavors don’t stop there.
My travel souvenirs are usually photos and flavor memories. I think of fresh pasta and cream pie cupcakes when it comes to Boston. Alligator cheesecake and muffaletta with New Orleans. Duck and pain au chocolat for Paris. (Obviously not served together!) 🙂 For England, I think of Cider and Black (currant) pints, malt-vinegared fish and chips, and jacket potatoes.
When I was in school in Lancaster, there was a small line of shops on campus — a small grocery, a chip shop, some other store fronts I don’t remember. At the end of the strip, there was a guy selling jacket potatoes from a cart. Jacket potatoes translated are just baked potatoes.
And you could get them loaded up for just a couple of quid. And not loaded like Americans think “loaded baked potatoes.” You could get butter and sour cream of course, but also coleslaw, mushrooms and garlic, baked beans, cheese, all kinds of stuff. No bacon though….
For an exchange student allowance, they were warm and filling. The guy in a newsboy hat stood behind a red cart, the potatoes wrapped in foil. The skin was thick and a little tough, but the insides were fluffy and soft.
I never got coleslaw on the potato… cabbage should always be considered a side… especially on pulled pork sandwiches (though that’s a discussion for another time).
By the third or fourth visit, I had a regular order — potato with butter, mushrooms, beans and cheese, with a small dab of sour cream. I know you are thinking — potato AND beans? Carb overload much? But the beans are sweet and don’t add heaviness. They are more like a sauce… And Heinz beans can go on anything.
The smell of malt vinegar can instantly bring me back to those days, more than 20 years ago now. I can’t associate a smell with the those potatoes, however… and when I have visited England since then, I haven’t been able to find a jacket potato vendor. I thought that flavor was lost to my palette.
Then I saw one of those recipe videos on Facebook and inspiration struck. The Food Network made a loaded potato bake in the oven — potatoes diced and topped with cream cheese, shredded cheese, bacon, and scallions. Then topped with chives.
I don’t have many original recipes of my own. I mostly cook recipes from pros or my family. But the other night, I made my riff on that Food Network dish that I’m calling Jacket Potato Bake and all the memories came flooding back…
I walked across the stone square named for Princess Alexandra on the way to movie club, I walked the long, long curving path to town, I wandered the Wednesday market, ate at Mac-Donalds (stress on the Mac syllable), smelled the curry cooking on the second floor of our building when the Indian wives came to make dinner for their husbands who were students, bundled up for my first (and only) Guy Fawkes Night bonfire, and sat on a bench overlooking the common area… peacocks warbling at all hours from somewhere nearby. There were long library shelves of new stories and sitting on top of the hill next to the 14th century abbey, looking out over the river wonder-ing at the tombstone my feet rested upon, set there before Columbus sailed… this place, it was home for a little while.
Jacket Potato Bake
Makes 2 servings
4 medium-sized, washed russet potatoes, cubed into 1-inch pieces, skins on
6 rashers bacon, cooked and chopped
2 tbsp reserved bacon grease
1 can (small) mushroom pieces and stems
1 can (small) baked beans (Heinz if you can swing it)
4 cloves roasted garlic, chopped (I had some on hand, you can chop up 2 cloves of fresh
garlic and toss it in if you don’t have it)
4-6 oz shredded cheese (I used colby jack)
Sour cream and chives for garnish
Toss the potatoes into a 8×8 inch pan. Toss with the 2 tbsp of bacon grease. Roast 40 minutes.
Bring it out and add mushrooms, beans, garlic and cheese. Bake for 13 more minutes.
When it come out, top with sour cream and chives. Serve hot.
Christina's New Deal 