Bethany's Vegan Kitchen

I slowly oven baked some potatoes, then quartered them, scattered over three kinds of cheese and crispy fried seitan, then baked again until the cheese was melted and bubbling.  This would be a lovely side dish to accompany all sorts of food. If you’d rather not make seitan, simply use some meat free bacon instead. Vbites make vegan bacon style rashers, you can buy them in Holland and Barrett or online from Ocado, if they deliver to your area

Yield; Six servings (272kcal per serving approx) Cook time; 2 hours total

You’ll need;

1. 1kg/2.2lb of baking potatoes
2. One tablespoon of oil
3. A sprinkle of salt
4. Four tablespoons of cream cheese (I used the free from cheese by ASDA)
5. 100g/3.5oz grated red Leicester cheese (I used the red Leicester by Sheese)
6. 100g/3.5oz grated mature cheddar (I used the free from cheddar by ASDA)
7. 200g/7oz seitan (or meat free bacon), sliced and fried until crispy (Click HERE  for my recipe for seitan)

Method;

• Wash and prick the skins of the potatoes, then place them onto a lined baking tray. Drizzle over the oil and salt and rub it into the skins so they’re all evenly coated
• Bake at 180ºC/160ºC fan assisted/320ºF for an hour and a half, turning once halfway through. While they’re cooking, grate the cheese and fry the seitan. Slice the seitan thinly and fry in a frying pan over a medium heat. They’ll only need a couple of minutes on either side, then slice them into small pieces. Alternatively do the same with meat free bacon
• Once they’re cooked, remove them from the oven and cut into quarters, or smaller if your potatoes are larger. Be careful when you do this as they will be very hot
• Then put the potatoes into an ovenproof dish, skin side down. Next, evenly distribute the cheese over the top, then finally scatter over the seitan, or bacon if using
• Then bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling. I really like the combination of textures, with the crispy seitan and baked potato skin, and the soft, fluffy cooked potato and melted cheese. This would make a lovely side dish for all sort of foods