Cheesy potatoes

(Serves four)

4 large even-sized bakingpotatoes
Olive oil
30 g butter
3 tbsp sour cream, cream or milk
60 g grated mature Cheddar cheese
2 eggs, separated
Pinch ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper

• Scrub and dry the potatoes. Put a spot of oil on your hands and rub the potatoes all over with it, then prick them a few times with a fork. Bake them in a 190˚C oven for about an hour or until they feel soft and are cooked through. You can cook them in the microwave, but the skins are crunchier when cooked in the oven.

Cut the top third off the potatoes and scrape the flesh into a bowl, leaving a little round the sides. Discard tops and stand the skins on a baking sheet.

Raise the temperature of the oven to 220˚C. Mash the potatoes until they are lump-free, then add the butter, sour cream, three-quarters of the cheese and the egg yolks, season with nutmeg and plenty of salt and pepper and beat it all together until smooth.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the potatoes, then pile the filling into the potato skins. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until puffy and brown.