056 / 75 · Vegetables, fish and hearty plates
Tuna and Sweetcorn Potato Tops
2 loaded potato halves, each with half the complete tuna-corn filling, 20 g cheese and half the yogurt finish · Active 16 min · Cook 18 min · Total 40 min
Print recipe · PDFOne large potato becomes two generous halves with a warm tuna-and-sweetcorn topping. The potato cooks first, the canned filling heats while it stands, and the cheese softens over both halves before a cool yogurt finish. Everything shown on the plate is included in the quantities, down to the spring onion and lime.
Finish the potato before filling
Choose one fairly even floury potato near the stated weight and pierce the skin before heating. Turn it midway and check the thickest center with a knife. The flesh should already be soft enough to fluff before the topping goes on; melted cheese cannot correct a hard core.
Keep a moist tuna filling
Use drained ready-to-eat canned tuna and canned sweetcorn. A small measured amount of water and oil prevents the flakes becoming dry during their separate heat. Stir gently so the corn and tuna stay recognizable. The yogurt, lime and spring onion are mixed separately and added after the covered stand.
Ingredients
- 1 floury potato, 400 g (14.1 oz), scrubbed and dried
- 140 g (4.9 oz) ready-to-eat canned tuna, drained weight
- 120 g (4.2 oz) ready-to-eat canned sweetcorn, drained
- 30 ml (2 US tbsp) water
- 5 ml (1 US tsp) olive oil
- 0.5 g sweet paprika, about ¼ US tsp
- 0.5 g fine salt, a small pinch
- 40 g (1.4 oz) cheddar, grated
- 60 g (2.1 oz) plain yogurt
- 15 ml (1 US tbsp) lime juice
- 20 g (0.71 oz) spring onion, finely sliced
Set out
1000 W microwave with turntable, Microwave-safe plate, at least 26 cm (10¼ in) across, with room to rotate, Microwave-safe vented plate cover, Microwave-safe bowl, 1 L (1.1 US qt), with vented cover, Small sauce bowl, Fork and spoon, Knife and board, Kitchen scale and measuring jug, Food thermometer, Oven mitts, Two serving plates
Allergens
Fish (tuna), Milk. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Prick the potato in 8–10 places with the fork. Set it on the plate and microwave at 1000 W full power for 5 minutes. Turn it with mitts and cook 5–7 minutes more until a knife enters the thickest center easily. Add short bursts if still firm. Leave it to stand outside the oven for 3 minutes.
- During that stand, combine tuna, canned corn, water, olive oil, paprika and salt in the 1 L bowl. Cover with the vented cover and microwave at full power for 2 minutes. Stir gently, then heat 1–2 minutes more until hot throughout. This stage may continue beyond the potato's stand; the two foods do not heat simultaneously.
- Split the tender potato lengthways into two halves and fluff the exposed flesh lightly. Divide all the tuna-corn filling and its juices between them, then add 20 g cheese to each. Cover the plate and microwave at full power for 1–2 minutes, rotating midway, until both filled centers reach 165°F/74°C. Stand covered for 2 minutes.
- Mix all the yogurt, lime juice and spring onion in the small bowl while the halves stand. Serve one complete half per person, with half the entire cool yogurt mixture over each. Eat promptly.
The potato makes two portions
The 400 g raw potato is cut into two complete halves, each carrying half the entire filling and finishes. This is a generous half-potato meal, not a whole potato per person.
The corn is already cooked
The written short method uses commercially canned ready-to-eat corn. Frozen corn needs its complete package cooking process first and is not a direct timed swap.
Ingredient labels
Check canned fish, corn and yogurt labels for additional ingredients. Salmon remains a fish allergen.
A useful detail
The 40-minute estimate allows preparation, up to 12 minutes potato heating, 4 minutes filling heating and 2 minutes final assembled heating, the final covered stand and finishing. The filling starts during the potato's stand but uses the oven only after the potato comes out. A thick potato may require extra bursts; tenderness and temperature checks take precedence over the clock.
Another way
- Use 140 g (4.9 oz) drained ready-to-eat canned salmon in place of tuna, removing unwanted skin and bones before weighing.
- Replace spring onion with 20 g finely diced ready-to-eat jarred roasted pepper in the yogurt finish.
Keep it well
Refrigerate shallow filled halves within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or below and use within 2 days. Keep unused yogurt finish cold separately. Reheat a half once, covered and rotated, until 165°F/74°C in several places, then stand covered for 2 minutes before adding a separately stored cold finish. Follow any shorter product-label limit.