Greek Stuffed Sweet Potatoes With Quinoa and Feta
Roasted sweet potatoes split and filled with cool lemon oregano quinoa, cucumber, cherry tomato, red onion, kalamata olives and crumbled feta. Stuffed, not twice-baked.
Servings 4 stuffed potatoes
Ingredients
For the Sweet Potatoes
- 4 medium sweet potatoes 8 to 10 ounces each, scrubbed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
For the Quinoa Filling
- ¾ cup quinoa rinsed well
- 1 ⅓ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1 cup English cucumber diced small
- ½ small red onion diced fine
- ½ cup pitted kalamata olives halved
- ⅓ cup flat leaf parsley chopped
- 4 ounces block feta in brine crumbled by hand
For the Lemon Oregano Dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice plus the zest of 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
Roast the Potatoes
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prick the scrubbed sweet potatoes six or eight times each with a fork, rub with olive oil and salt, and set them on a foil lined sheet pan. Do not wrap them in foil.
- Roast 45 to 55 minutes, until a knife slides into the thickest part with no resistance and syrup is bubbling from the fork holes.
Make the Filling
- Rinse the quinoa in a fine sieve under cold water for 30 seconds. Bring it to a boil with the broth, cover, reduce to low and cook 15 minutes.
- Take it off the heat and rest it, still covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork, spread it out and let it cool to room temperature.
- Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, oregano, pepper and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the cooled quinoa and turn it through the dressing. Fold in the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives and parsley, then most of the crumbled feta, saving a handful for the top. Taste and adjust the salt.
Stuff and Serve
- Split each hot sweet potato lengthwise, cutting most of the way through but not all the way, and press the ends toward each other so it opens.
- Drag a fork through the exposed flesh to loosen it into a well, leaving the flesh in the skin.
- Spoon the quinoa filling into each potato and finish with the reserved feta and a squeeze of lemon.
Notes
- Stuffed, not twice-baked: The flesh stays in the skin. A second bake would wilt the cucumber and turn the feta greasy.
- Cool the quinoa: Spread it out for 10 minutes before folding in the vegetables and feta, or the cucumber goes limp and the cheese smears.
- No foil on the potatoes: Foil steams the skin. You want it tight and slightly caramelized so it holds the filling like a bowl.
- Buy block feta in brine: Pre-crumbled feta is coated in starch and tastes dry.
- Meal prep: Filling keeps 4 days and improves overnight, potatoes keep 3 days. Store them separately and assemble only when you eat.