Baked Potato and Tuna with a twist. (Cooking on a Budget!)

Member Name: Renza_e

Product:	Cooking on a Budget!
Date:	13/02/09 (249 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, tasty, makes baked potatoes more exciting.

Disadvantages: Not good if you dislike tuna.

I am never going to be a terrific cook. Or rather, I probably can cook but won't - a case of too little time and too little money. However, I thought I'd pass on an idea which a friend gave me to make a Baked Potato with Tuna more interesting. It's a very simple idea but I LOVE it - it tastes very yummy and it's much better than just sticking a potato in the oven and then spreading it with butter and a dollop of tuna and mayo on top. This in itself is quite nice but I've been getting very bored with what I make for myself. Anyhow, here's a great twist on this dish which is great for lunch or dinner and can be served with accompaniments.

*~Ingredients~*

The ingredients are really very cheap and you can go for cheaper brands if you wish.

~Potato for baking
~Can of Tuna (cheapest I get is Value Tuna at Tesco)
~Tub of mixed herbs
~Mayonnaise (I like Hellman's Light)
~Butter/Margarine
~Sweetcorn optional.
~Grated cheese optional.

*~Equipment~*

~Fork
~Plate
~Two bowls
~Oven dish (optional)
~Microwave (also optional)
~Butter Knife
~Spoon

*~How to make~*

1) Cook the baked potato for the normal amount of time, pricking the potato with a fork. You can either do this for approximately and hour in the oven or 10 mins in the microwave (turning over). It really depends on the size of the potato really. Having washed your hands thoroughly you may wish to prod it and you can tell if a potato is soft enough. Whilst the potato is cooking, prepare your other ingredients. Mix the tuna with mayonnaise (and sweetcorn if you like) in a dish. Now many of you probably know that part. So what do I do differently?

2) Once the potato is soft and hot, cut it in half down the middle. I then take my second bowl and spoon out the insides on to a bowl and then mash it a bit more with a fork. This is optional but then cover the skins very lightly with olive oil and put these on an oven dish and also sprinkle cheese on top of these and allow them to cook at 180 degrees.

3) I then take a good amount of butter (could be margarine) and mash that in with the potato. There is then the tuna mayo and I mash some of it (but not too much) in with the potato but don't mash it up to the extent it resembles puree unless you find you prefer this consistency. Then I take some mixed herbs and mix that in. I use quite a sizeable amount of herbs but you may only wish to use a teaspoon or two.

4) After a few minutes I then take the skins back out of the oven again (leave them for a bit longer if you want crispier skins and your potatoes haven't been in an oven) and fill it with the herby-potaty-tuna mixture using the mixture to put both parts of the potato together again.

5.) Usually I have some of the mixture and the tuna leftover and often have it beside the tuna depending on how hungry I am.

*~Nutritional Benefits~*

This simple dish is very nutritional (particularly if you eat your skins :P) with a good serving of carbohydrates. The fish may be processed which reduces its nutritional value but there is a bit of goodness left and if you add in enough sweetcorn you have a serving of one of your five a day right there. If you're trying to cut back on your cholesterol intake I would use Flora, Olive Spread or another type of 'healthy spread'. I like to have this with coleslaw which it probably not so good for you.

*~But it's such a simple dish...~*

I know it's a ridiculously simple dish but you'd be amazed at how much better this way of cooking it is. The herbs make the potato taste fantastic. I'd now much rather make one for myself than have a cafe or restaurant make it for me. It is delicious and can keep me going for a whole afternoon if the potato is big enough.

*~Thanks for reading~* x

Summary: Baked potatoes need not be dull!