Pesto Potatoes

By Sarah Raven

Serves 4

4 Baking potatoes
200ml creme fraiche
175g grated Wensleydale or another crumbly hard cheese (I like to use feta)
150ml Pesto (I often do this with wild garlic pesto)
2 cloves of garlic (leave out if using wild garlic pesto)
salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 180C.
Wash the potatoes and score round the full diameter of the potato with a sharp knife, only just piercing the skin. This makes it easier to cut them precisely, so that you get two perfect halves.
Bake the potatoes for about an hour, until they're cooked all the way through. Remove them from the oven, keeping it on, and cut them in half. Carefully scoop out the potato from the skins and put into a bowl.
Add all the other ingredients to the potato flesh and mix thoroughly with a fork. Spoon the mixture back into the potato skins, piling them up above the edges, so that they look generously filled. Return them to the oven for about 15 mins, until the tops become golden.

These can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to two days to cook when needed. They are also suitable for freezing at the just-stuffed stage.