100% comfort food!  What a great thing to do with a jacket potato! This takes me back to my childhood for many reasons.

Neither of these girls is me, I will return later and replace with a very similar photograph that IS me.  All British photos from the 1970s looked like this…

Firstly, in my childhood I remember there always being tinned fish around, my favourite being pilchards.  I loved pilchards on toast.

Now I have remembered these, they have gone on the shopping list

Secondly, because jacket potatoes were always a TREAT.  I guess because my mum would have had to plan ahead if we were going to have them for tea, because they take longer to cook than ordinary potatoes.

Mmmmm – jackets!

Thirdly, because Pat Phoenix was the first actress I remember knowing-without-being-told was super glamorous.  She just oozed charisma and was so stylish.  Just look at her!

Majestic or what?!  I have a flowery brown blouse with a similar collar that I always think of as my “Pat Phoenix blouse”.

It made me laugh when I read just now that she was known as the “working man’s Raquel Welch” – haha!

Yes, similar!

I spotted this recipe when I was looking for something else a few weeks ago.  The minute I clapped eyes on it I thought, YES.  I am making THAT.  It’s been on my mind ever since and tonight I got the chance.  It’s my evening class night.  In theory, I don’t cook, I don’t clean, I don’t surf the net, I just sit in my yellow chair and think deep thoughts about food writing.  I have devised my own curriculum so I am doing “home study” – you can check out my reading list here…

However, the no cooking rule was broken tonight as I knew there was an ENORMOUS baking potato in my fridge, along with some cheese.  I always have tinned fish and onions around the place. Therefore this dish.

Because my potato was so huge (bought sight unseen from Ocado) I cut it in two. I was a bit worried about how it might cook but everything was very good indeed, I’d rubbed it all over with truffle oil, including the cut sides, and they gave an extra crispy oomph to the whole thing.  I baked them cut sides down on a baking tray.

I used sardines in tomato sauce because I figured they would taste good in a potato and boy oh boy, they so did!

I used all but one of these little fellas, but I could have used the whole lot for a more fishy potato.  Why did I keep just one?  What will I do with that?!

Here’s the finished dish.  SO GOOD.

Highly recommended if you want to feel like you are back in the 1970s hanging out on Coronation Street having your supper with Pat.

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