Baked sweet potato with chorizo, mushrooms, coriander and fried egg

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 
• 150g (5oz) chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and chopped into pieces 
• 100g (4oz) chorizo, sliced into pieces a little thicker than a £1 coin 
• 2 large eggs 
• Small handful of coriander leaves 
• Salt and pepper 
• Sprinkling of smoked paprika, to finish (optional)

Method

You bake sweet potatoes in the same way as regular potatoes, in an oven preheated to 200C, 400F, gas 6, but for less time: they will probably need only about 30 minutes to become tender, though large ones can take an hour – and I find the cooking time varies according to the texture of the variety you’re using.

When the potatoes are nearly cooked, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a medium frying pan and sauté the mushrooms briskly over a fairly high heat. Season. 

Mushrooms give out a lot of moisture when they cook, so make sure the juices evaporate by finishing the mushrooms over a high heat. 

Scrape them into a bowl and cover to keep warm. 

Add ½ tbsp oil to the same pan and cook the chorizo on both sides until brown all over. Add to the mushrooms.

Heat the rest of the olive oil and fry the eggs, scooping the hot oil up over the top of the yolk to help it cook.

Split each potato lengthways. Spoon the mushrooms and chorizo inside and scatter with the coriander.

Top with the fried eggs, season – sprinkle on a little smoked paprika if you have some – and serve immediately.

Read Diana Henry's tips for the perfect baked potato. Plus, read our guide to cooking sweet potatoes.