There isn't a dull mouthful here, thanks to the mixture of punchy flavours
Diana Henry
The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
Published
This is deceptively simple. In addition to the potato you only have to cook the feta and do some quick-pickled slices of onion. But look at the mixture of punchy flavours that meet here; there isn’t a dull mouthful.
Use coriander instead of mint, or black olives instead of green ones, if you prefer.
Overview
Prep time
20 mins
Cook time
1 hr
Serves
2
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 150g block of feta
- 1 tbsp honey, or as needed
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- small pinch of chilli flakes
- ½ red onion, very finely sliced
- ½ tsp sumac
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- 6 tbsp Greek yogurt (more if you want)
- 100g cooked beetroot, cut into cubes or little slim wedges
- 35g pitted green olives, whole or roughly chopped
- leaves from 3 sprigs of mint
Method
Step
Heat the oven to 200C/190C fan/gas mark 6.
Step
Pierce 2 large sweet potatoes a few times with the tines of a fork. Put them on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet and cook them until they are tender right through, about an hour (the sugar in sweet potatoes caramelises and runs out of the potato, which is why you need to put them on a baking sheet).
Step
Cook the feta at the same time as the potatoes. Put 150g block of feta in a baking dish that’s about the same size as the piece of cheese (placing it first on a piece of foil to pull up round the sides – but not over the top – saves washing up if your honey burns).
Step
Brush the feta with 1 tbsp honey, and add 2 tsp of the olive oil, a few chilli flakes and some seasoning. Bake for 20 minutes.
Step
Toss ½ finely sliced red onion with ½ tsp sumac and 2 tsp lemon juice, the remaining olive oil and some seasoning.
Step
Stir 1 grated garlic clove into 6 tbsp Greek yogurt and season 100g cooked and cubed beetroot.
Step
Once cooked, split open the potatoes – without cutting all the way through – and season the insides.
Step
Put a few dollops of yogurt in each potato and top with the feta (broken into chunks), red onion, beetroot, 35g green olives (whole or roughly chopped) and the leaves of 3 mint sprigs, making sure the feta – the co-star in this dish – is visible.
Step
Drizzle with more honey, if you like, and serve immediately.