_900.png "Spiced Eggplant & Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potato")
If you’re looking for an easy AND filling vegetarian dinner idea for Easter supper, you’re going to love these Spiced EGGplant & Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes!
They are very easy to make and to customize based on your personal preferences. In this recipe, we stuffed our Round Plains sweet potatoes with a mixture of our Great Lakes Greenhouses roasted baby eggplants spiced with cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and tomato paste, local Quinta quinoa, dried cherries, and chickpeas.
Topped with some delicious Celebrity goat cheese, fresh mint and a drizzle of Earth + City's Tahini & Lemon dressing, these stuffed sweet potatoes are a must-try addition to your roster of vegetarian meals!
Meet Our Farmers & Producers
Round Plains
The stars of this recipe, our sweet potatoes are sourced from Round Plains, a non-certified organic farm run by Bob and Juli who have been farming for 25 years on their family spread. Round Plains primarily grows different varieties of organic sweet potatoes and are very proud to be part of the Norfolk County farming community.
Quinta Quinoa
Our Ontario Quinoa is sourced from Quinta Superfoods. This quinoa is a Canadian-grown high nutrient, high quality quinoa. that is all natural (non-GMO).
Ontario's superior soil allow them to produce the only quinoa with 2-4 times the fibre, iron, magnesium and calcium over other brands!
Earth + City
Earth + City prepares healthy, plant-based food in tandem with the Ontario growing season. All of their ingredients are thoughtfully chosen, with a focus on seasonal availability and the pantry staples in their kitchen are gluten-free, mainly organic, and frequently ordered through local food vendors.
Their lemon & tahini dressing is drizzle over these stuffed sweet potatoes!
Cookstown Greens
Cookstown Greens is a family-run farm located 1 hour north of Toronto in Essa township that grows over 120 varieties of the best certified organic vegetables, greens, seedlings, garnishes and edible flowers!
Their beautiful organic Hearty Mix microgreens make the perfect, crunchy, delicious salad to eat along with these stuffed sweet potatoes.
Great Lakes Greenhouses
The baby eggplants used to stuff these sweet potatoes are from Great Lakes Greenhouses. Great Lakes is a certified organic greenhouse in Leamington, ON.
In an effort to reduce their carbon footprint, they generate all of their energy on-site and the excess heat that is produced is captured and used to heat the greenhouse.
Rosewood Estates
Whether sweet or savoury, we love using a touch of Rosewood honey in our recipes to add that touch of sweetness. What can we say, it's that good! Rosewood Estates is a family owned and operated winery and meadery located in the Niagara region.
Rosewood Estates uses sustainable bee-keeping practices and integrated pest management.
August's Harvest
Our local garlic and shallots used in this recipe are from August's Harvest. August’s Harvest is now one of the largest commercial garlic growers in Ontario.
Cherry Lane
Our local dried cherries are sourced from Cherry Lane. Cherry Lane is run by the Smith family who immigrated to Canada in the late 1780s, and are leaders in the fruit production and processing industry in Ontario.
These cherries soak up the moisture in the rest of the sweet potato stuffing, becoming nice and plump, adding a beautiful burst of sweet and tart flavour to the stuffing in this recipe !
Celebrity by Mariposa
We source our goat cheese from Mariposa Dairy. They produce goat and sheep milk cheeses made in true “Celebrity” style. Sea salt is added to the cheese which brings out the delicate flavour of the cheese – and does not add unwanted iodine to the health conscious diet. The perfect creamy and tangy element to top these stuffed sweet potatoes.
Cullen's
All of Cullen's canned beans are 100% Ontario-grown and certified organic, which means they are non-GMO and produced without the use of chemicals. We've used their chickpeas for an extra protein boost in this vegetarian recipe. You can also try roasting them first to add some crunch to this recipe!
Ingredients
- 1/2 can Cullen's canned chickpeas (you can also roast these chickpeas for added crunch! We have the perfect recipe in this post)
- 2 - 4 Round Plains sweet potatoes
- 3 x Great Lakes Greenhouses baby eggplants
- 1/3 cup Cherry Lane dried cherries
- 1 x handful fresh Mike & Mike's organic mint
- 1 x handful Cookstown Greens Hearty Mix microgreens
- 1 x tablespoon Celebrity goat cheese
- 1/2 August's Harvest shallot
- 1 x clove August's Harvest garlic
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Rosewood honey
- 1 x cup cooked Quinta Quinoa
- 4 tbsp Earth + City Tahini Lemon Dressing (for drizzling)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
- juice of 1 Mike & Mike's organic lime
Method
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Prepare your Ontario Quinta quinoa by taking 1 cup of quinoa and rinsing it under water in a fine mesh strainer. Rinsing quinoa is an important step as it removes the quinoa's natural coating, called saponin, which can make it taste bitter or soapy.
Once rinsed, combine 1 cup of quinoa with 1 and 1/4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer covered for 12-14 minutes.
Once cooked, set aside.
Next, cut the top off each of your baby eggplants and cut them in half lengthwise. Cut each half into thirds lengthwise and dice into 1 inch pieces. In a large bowl combine your tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add your diced eggplant to the bowl and, using your hands, mix together until your eggplant is coated.
Line a baking sheet with tin foil and drizzle with some olive oil. Pour your eggplant onto the sheet. If you have a large enough sheet, keep your eggplant to one side so you can add your sweet potato to the other side.
Cut your sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Place your sweet potato halves cut side down on the baking sheet. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring your eggplant halfway through.
Remove the sheet from the oven and transfer your eggplant to a large bowl. Flip your sweet potato over and place back in the oven to cook for another 10 minutes, skin side down.
While the sweet potato is finishing, heat a frying pan on medium-high heat with a little bit of olive oil. Dice your shallots and garlic and add it to the pan to sauté until the shallots are translucent, about a minute or two.
Add your eggplant to the pan and stir to combine. Drizzle in your honey and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and transfer back into a heat safe bowl. Add your chickpeas, quinoa and dried cherries to the bowl and stir to combine.
Remove your sweet potato from the oven and allow to cool slightly. The sweet potato flesh should be soft and easy to scoop out. If it is not, return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes or until tender.
Scoop out the inside of the sweet potato, leaving about 1/4 inch of flesh surrounding the skin.
Add the scooped out flesh to your eggplant and quinoa mixture and stir to combine. Add the juice of one lime and stir.
Fill each sweet potato half with the stuffing mixture and top with crumbled goat cheese. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
Sprinkle some Cookstown Greens Hearty Mix on a plate. Remove the stuffed sweet potato from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully lay each sweet potato half on the bed of microgreens. Sprinkle with some chopped fresh mint and drizzle with Earth + City's Lemon & Tahini Dressing.
Serve immediately!
