Loaded Sweet Potatoes with Lemon Saffron Quinoa

April 7, 2020

Servings: 4

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 1 hr

Total: 1 hr

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Whether this is a vegetarian entree or a side with your protein of choice, these sweet potatoes are chocked full of all your favorites. Follow my lead, or use what you have on hand in your own pantry (see notes below).

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• 3-4 medium sweet potatoes
• 3 TBSP olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt
• ¼ cup unsalted peanuts coarsely chopped (or pine nuts)
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• ¼ cup crumbled cheese (feta or goat cheese)
• Flat leaf parsley
• For the quinoa:
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups of vegetable stock (or water)
• A pinch of saffron
• 2 TBSP of fresh lemon juice
• The zest from 1 lemon

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat oven to 400°. Roast sweet potatoes on a greased baking sheet until skins are browned and potatoes are tender all the way through, about 45 minutes.
• Step 2 Meanwhile, prepare quinoa in a small saucepan. Add your stock, saffron, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large pot with the quinoa and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer for ~15 minutes. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, reducing heat as time goes on to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. This step gives the quinoa time to pop open, so it’s nice and fluffy. Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Season with salt, to taste.
• Step 3 Remove sweet potatoes from oven and, using a heavy spatula, smash potatoes down (just to flatten and break the skin slightly, don’t break all the way through!), then drizzle with 1 TBSP oil and season with salt. Continue to roast until flesh is lightly browned, 12–15 minutes longer.
• Step 4 Toast nuts in a small sauce pan until toasted and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to another small bowl. Add red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt, then let cool. Stir lemon juice into peanuts just before using.
• Step 5 To serve, slice sweet potatoes open and stuff with quinoa, pomegranate seeds, and cheese. Sprinkle with peanuts and fresh parsley. Drizzle with olive oil before serving.

This recipe is another product of my recent quarantine recipe exchange (thanks Joanna!). Her recipe came from bon appetit, but I adapted it so much that I want to share my version with you on the blog, especially since I made it so pantry friendly (see below). Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite veggies, but you probably don’t see my post about them a lot because Marc isn’t the biggest fan. He definitely wouldn’t have gone for this as a main dinner entree, so I actually cooked him a pork chop – on the “side” – and made him a baked potato instead. He used the same toppings as we did, which honestly could’ve gone either way, but he actually thought the pomegranate seeds were the best touch. TBH, so do I!

I actually have received SO many recipes from the exchange, I haven’t even gotten around to opening them all. I’m setting that “homework” aside (along with a renewed focus on the blog in general) for later in the week once Passover begins. My office is closed and normally this would be “vacation” week, which would bring with it a host of activities and outings. But since we’ve been locked in the house for a month now, I think I’ll actually try to use my time “off” from work more productively and work on the blog (when the kids will let me, that is).

In order to make this recipe as pantry friendly for you as possible, I’m breaking it down by ingredient category. You can follow my recipe to a tee – you won’t be disappointed! – but this way, even if you don’t have pomegranate seeds on hand, or don’t want to put in the effort to make my lemon saffron quinoa (no judgment!), you can still partake in the delicious goodness of these baked sweet potatoes!

Here’s the ingredient breakdown:

• Sweet potatoes
• A grain of your choice – the original recipe called for lentils, but substitute what works for you. Farro, quinoa, rice even!
• A handful of nuts – peanuts, pine nuts, almonds, cashews, anything goes
• A fruit – This is where you can get super creative: clementines, apples, gogi berries, pomegranate seeds – whatever you fancy!
• A cheese – The recipe called for feta, which I didn’t have, crumbled goat cheese would also be perfect. I grated a truffle gouda because that’s all I happened to have!
• Herbs – A handful of bright fresh herbs, like cilantro or flat leaf parsley (I had a lot of this for Passover on hand)