It’s really important to involve children in cooking from an early age. They can help scoop out the potato flesh, mix in the ingredients and mash it all together. Children will love helping you decorate these to look like mice.
Butternut squash is very rich in vitamin A which is important for healthy skin, eyesight and fighting infection.
Another good nutritious filling for baked potatoes is to mash the potato with a little mayonnaise, milk and grated Cheddar and then mix in a little sweetcorn, tuna and chopped spring onion.
Ingredients
4 medium baking potatoes (approximately 8 ounces each)
A little vegetable oil
½ medium butternut squash (approximately 11 ounces )
3 tablespoons butter
Two thirds cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon milk
Half cup grated Cheddar cheese
Decoration:
4 small Cherry tomatoes
Chives
4 Radishes
Raisins
Spring onions
Preparation
1. Prick the potatoes in several places, place on a baking tray and brush all over with the oil. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 375°F for 1 to 1 ¼ hours or until they feel soft when pressed.
2. Cut a medium butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds and brush with a knob of melted butter. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until tender.
3. When cool enough to handle, cut the tops off the baked potatoes and scoop out the flesh. Scoop out the flesh of the cooked butternut squash and mash together with the baked potato flesh, mustard, parmesan, milk and butter. Season with a little salt and pepper.
4. Put the mixture back into the potato shells, cover with the grated Cheddar and cook under a pre-heated grill for a few minutes until golden.
5. Fix a small cherry tomato into each of the potatoes using a cocktail stick for the noses. Add some short lengths of chives for the whiskers – you can tuck these behind the tomato. Decorate with halved radishes for the ears, raisins for the eyes and spring onion for the tails.
Makes 4 baked potatoes
