Sweet Jacket Potato with Tuna & Mozzarella
Recipe
During my whole childhood I have never had a jacket potato. This is quite a dramatic statement for someone who’s coming from a country of potato eaters. Moreover, I hadn’t tried a sweet potato until my late thirties. Those two facts probably summarise my life as pretty traumatic, at least in the kitchen department. But please do not feel sorry for me as I made up all this lost time while working in the City (in my previous life) as for the first three years spent there I had a jacket potato for lunch almost every day. Yep. Tuna-mayo jacket potato with a green side salad.
When I went vegan I thought that there would be a lot of dishes I would have to say good-bye to forever (including this one). But, as they say: if there is a will, there is a way.
Note: if you wish, you can substitute the mozzarella with a vegan mayo as they are now easily available in every major supermarket, at least in the UK.
Ah, and one more thing. I refuse to use the word ‘mock tuna’ as anything labelled ‘mock’ has a connotation of something inferior. But in my humble opinion, nothing that Mother Nature provides could ever be inferior to what comes from a morgue.
Cooking time: 60 min
Difficulty: easy
–
Ingredients
- 4 small jacket potatoes
For the tuna
- 100g walnuts, soaked for 8 hours
- 100g sunflower seeds, soaked for an hour
- 2 celery stalks
- 2 carrots, peeled if not organic
- ½ bunch of dill, for garnish
For the mozzarella
- 50g cashews, soaked for 1 hour
- 230g aquafaba (liquid from a 400ml can of chickpeas)
- 2 tbsp. tapioca starch
- 2 tsp. kappa carrageenan
- 1 tsp. lactic acid (can be substituted with lemon juice)
- 1 tsp. nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. coconut oil
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180° C.
2. Scrub the potatoes with a brush under a running tap. Using a fork prick the potatoes about 20 times throughout. (avoiding that step may result in your potatoes exploding in the oven!). Roast in the oven for 45 minutes.
3. Thoroughly drain the walnuts and seeds. Place all the tuna ingredients in a blender and blitz them till smooth.
4. Drain the cashews and blend together with aquafaba until VERY smooth.
5. Add tapioca starch, kappa carrageenan, lactic acid, nutritional yeast, salt, coconut oil and blend again to combine. The mixture will be smooth and a little thick.
6. Place into a medium saucepan and constantly stirring cook over a medium heat. At first it will look quite lumpy as the tapioca starts to activate. Eventually it will turn lovely and smooth, just a like a melted cheese. When the temperature reaches 170°C, it’s ready.
7. You can pour it into a mould, I personally keep it in a mason jar and scoop it out with a spread knife when needed. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow it to fully firm up. I usually make triple quantities and freeze the rest, to avoid having to make it every week (yes, it’s that yummy!).
8. To assemble the jacket potatoes, cut the roasted sweet potatoes in half lengthways (or just half way and then open up like a book). Add two scoops/table spoons of tuna in the middle of each potato, grate or just sprinkle it with (as much as you like) mozzarella and return to the oven for 2 minutes to allow the cheese to melt. Serve with chopped dill on top.