By the time I got to lunch today, I was so grateful that I’d popped these spuds in the slow-cooker early this morning. I was feeling flat and in need of a big plate of comfort food that would fill me up.

A few minutes prep while the kettle’s boiling first thing, then forget about them while you go about your day. It couldn’t be simpler. Cook while you work. Then, ta-da! a freshly cooked ‘baked’ potato, because there is simply no place on a plate for a soggy microwaved baked potato. Nope.

The flesh goes a lovely sweet caramel colour and the skin just a bit chewy crispy.

The beauty of a baked potato is in its simplicity. The interest comes from the choice of fillings. Today, I’ve gone for some leftover vegetable chilli. My daughter and husband went tuna mayo. Another excellent choice.

Sour cream, cream cheese, baked beans, chilli, blue cheese & bacon, coleslaw, prawns…the list goes on.

To prep, I washed the potatoes then drizzled them with the faintest lick of olive oil. A crack of salt and pepper on each, then score or prick the skin before tucking each one into some foil. These were them arranged in one layer on the bottom of the slow-cooker and left to cook for 5.5 hours. (Cooking time would depend on a few things, obviously – the size of the potato, the heat of slow-cooker…) I had mine on high for the whole time, medium-sized potatoes that were fridge-cold to start with. It would be worth giving them a head start from room temperature.

Can’t believe it’s that simple? The Kitchn has a great description of How to bake a potato in the slow cooker and even goes into detail about why the flesh develops its lovely sweet nutty flavour.