Top News

Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside-that's the hallmark of the perfect baked potato. Once split open, the steaming interior becomes the ultimate base for toppings, from butter, baked beans and cheeses, tuna and mayo, or sour cream and crispy bacon.

While there are countless opinions on how to achieve potato perfection, classically trained chef Billy Parisi believes in keeping the recipe simple. No foil, no microwaving and no need for piercing the potato multiple times with a fork when cooking a jacket potato. According to the chef, wrapping the potato in foil will cause you to lose out on the outer crisp skin and poking it with a fork will dry the potato out.

Billy said that he truly believes that the way to achieve "the best-baked potato" is by salting it.

He explained: "It's a simple process of coating it in olive oil and salt and baking it. This will ensure the entire potato is seasoned from the outside in.

"I really like salt as I believe it enhances the flavour of food to another level, but if you don't like it as much, no problem, as you can brush quite a bit of it off after it is done baking."

• Five large baking potatoes
• One quarter cup of olive oil
• Two tablespoons of salt

Start by preheating your oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas Mark 5 before rinsing the baked potatoes under cold water and rubbing them with your hands to remove any dirt. Then, dry with a towel.

Mix together the oil and salt in a medium-sized bowl until combined. Take one potato at a time, add it to the bowl and completely coat it in the oil and salt.

Once coated, place the potatoes onto a baking tray that is lined with parchment paper and cook for one hour.

When they are done cooking, serve whole, or slice in the centre and push the outsides to the middle and serve.

If you want to reheat them the next day, place them on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4 for 15 minutes or until warmed.

If you have a lot of leftover baked potatoes, they are excellent for making hash browns.