sweet potato boats | recipe

A regular dinner rotation at our place, I always make extra sweet potato boats for our lunches the next day. They are easy, cheap and very versatile. Invite your kids to help in the kitchen, and let them construct their very own boat for dinner! 

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 medium sized sweet potato
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup tinned lentils
• 185g tuna in olive oil (optional)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbs goats cheese (or cheddar)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. Using a fork, make 4 pricks along the top of the sweet potato
3. Lightly brush with olive oil, and bake in oven until you can easily insert a skewer all the way to the bottom (time will vary depending on size of sweet potato, allow approx. 30 mins)
4. Meanwhile, mix together lentils, red onion, lemon juice, 1 tbs olive oil, tuna (if using) and season with salt and pepper
5. Once sweet potato is ready, use a knife to make a few cuts across the top and scoop the inside out, making sure you leave a layer along the bottom to hold the filling
6.  Add some of the sweet potato filling to the lentil mix and stir to combine
7. Fill the sweet potato with the filling, and sprinkle on the cheese
8. Bake in oven for 5-10 mins, or until goats cheese is golden (or cheddar has melted)

The options for filling really are endless - I also love to use sautéed bacon and garlic with some spinach leaves stirred in. Use the leftover scooped sweet potato for a mash later in the week!