What a lovely term for a lovely food like this. The first time I had anything like this was at the Arts Canteen, while I was still a freshman at the National University of Singapore. I remember that the shop had an interesting combination too – a Burmese running a Western stall. But it was one of those stalls with fast food that’s nice and forgiving enough on the taste buds. Those were the days…
Well, in the case of home-cooked food, this dish is definitely NOT for those who are looking at preparing a quick meal and a quick fix for an already grumbling stomach. It takes about an hour and a half to cook it – most of which is required time to awaken the starch within the hibernating potato.
Ingredients:
- 1 big floury potato: scrubbed and washed
- Salt: about 1 tbsp
- Olive oil: about 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp for frying
- Bacon strip: 1, diced finely
- Small white onion: 1/2, diced
- Mature cheddar cheese: 1-cm strip, sliced
- Gruyere cheese: 1/2-cm strip, sliced
- Ham slice: 2, diced
- Tuna in brine, 1/2 small can, with brine removed
- Fresh rosemary sprigs: 1 stalk, washed
- 3-in-1 instant potato soup: 1/2 packet, stirred with 1/4 cup hot water
- Mozzarella cheese: 4 tbsp
- Chives: 1/2 stalk, chopped
Method:
- Preheat oven at 200 degs.
- Prick the potato all over using a fork. Rub salt and oil over it.
- Wrap potato in aluminium foil and bake for 1 hr. Flip it over to the side after 30min.
- Place bacon strips in the oven to cook for 15min. Remove and set aside.
- Heat up the oil in a saucepan. Add onions and fry till fragrant.
- Add cheddar and Gruyere cheeses. Stir till the cheeses melt.
- Add ham, tuna, rosemary and the potato soup. Mix everything together till mixture thickens.
- When the potato is done, remove from oven and half it. Spoon cooked filling in between the 2 halves.
- Spoon mozzarella cheese on top and return it to oven for about 15min, till browned.
- Top with the bacon bits and garnish with chives to serve.
Trick:
- I understand that some people don’t recommend using the aluminium foil because they believe that as long as you’ve got the correct type of potato, there shouldn’t be a problem getting it to cook properly. Obviously, I don’t belong to this clique. Whenever I forget my magic foil, my potato refused to obey.
Serving:
1 person
