Southwestern Style Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I must admit - the first time I saw this recipe I more or less kept skimming. I like sweet potatoes but do not necessarily seek them out consistently. I have a similar feeling about black beans (a good black bean burger? Great! But endless black bean recipes? Eh...) but as I flipped pages looking for inspiration a few weeks ago, this recipe stuck out a bit more. It seemed to hit a lot of great points and in the dog days of summer, seemed like a hearty enough dish to satisfy without being overly heavy in this sweltering heat.

The verdict? I'm officially chastened that I didn't give this recipe its due earlier. It was easy to make and absolutely delicious, hitting all the right notes of sweet and savory and leaving me satisfied but not overstuffed. My husband couldn't agree me, though my five year old preferred her sweet potato plain and my picky 2.5 year old son refused to consider it. His hilarious food groups: chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, lox, and brioche. That's right. He eats about four things total but those include lox and brioche (not together.) Anyway, get going on this recipe and don't leave it waiting like I did!

Time: 30 min

Southwestern Style Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 large green tomato (or 3 tomatillos)

3 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1/4 c quinoa, uncooked

4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean

1 can unsalted black beans, drained and rinsed

1.5 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 c sweet white onion, diced

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 c labneh (I make my own using plain yogurt... can also just sub plain yogurt here)

1/4 c crumbled queso fresco

Get your broiler heating on low. Slice your green tomato in quarters. Place it and the unpeeled garlic cloves on a broiler pan and broil for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Set aside to cool.

While that is broiling, prepare the quinoa according to the directions on the box.

Prick the clean sweet potatoes all over with a fork and put on a microwavable plate. Microwave for about 12 minutes. Then let cool.

You can now turn to the various other toppings while those cook. Place the black beans, lime juice, oregano, and cumin in a bowl. Toss well to combine. Set aside or on the table - this part is done!

Mix together the labneh and the queso fresco and set aside or on the table.

At this point, you can turn back to the previously cooking items. For the salsa, remove and discard the garlic cloves. Put the green tomatoes and garlic in a small food processor and pulse just until chopped.

Slice the cooked sweet potatoes in half. Use a fork to scrape and fluff the inside a bit so that it will be easier to cut and eat when topped.

To eat, top each half a sweet potato with bean mixture, salsa verde, and then the yogurt-queso mix. Top with hot sauce if you prefer. Enjoy!