Vegetarian delight: Goat cheese & lentils stuffed sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes stuffed with lentils and goat cheese might be a bit time consuming in preparation, but their taste and nutritional values are worth every second of it. This gluten free, vegetarian dish is packed with proteins, fiber, folic acid and vitamin A. Folic acid is responsible for essential processes in your body, such as red blood cells production, so we should really take care of its intake in our diet. This dish supplements folic acid, looks beautiful and tastes even better and though it takes a bit before you’ll be able to dig in it’s still easy to make and very beneficial for your health!

Ingredients:

4 medium sweet potatoes
3/4 cup black lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 stalks celery, including leaves
1 large green onion
120 grams goat cheese
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 220°C.

Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly and bake them for at least 45 minutes, until tender.

In the meantime, combine 3/4 cups black lentils with 3 cups water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, and leave to cook for 20 minutes on medium heat, until tender but not soft.

Once the lentils are tender (but not soft) take them of the flame and drain removing as much water as possible, then transfer to a bowl. Mix lentils with 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt.

Separate the stalks of celery from the leaves and set leaves aside. Thinly slice the stalks and green onion and chop fresh thyme leaves, then mix in with the lentils.

After 45 minutes of baking remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and let them cool slightly.

Now cut each potato in halves, scoop out the insides into a bowl, leaving a layer of sweet potato within the skin so that it can stand on its own.

Mashe the scooped parts in the bowl, add half of the goat cheese, salt and fresh ground pepper.

Fill each remaining potato skin with the filling and top with the lentils.

Bake for around 10 minutes in 180°C.

Garnish the dish with celery leaves and the crumble the remaining goat cheese on top.

This dish is best served hot and right away. It’s perfect for sharing, your partner or guests will definitely be impressed and thankful for treating them with such a wholesome delight! Enjoy!