Mediterranean Stuffed Baked Potatoes with Marinated Feta and Kalamata Olives
Marinated feta and Kalamata olives stuffed into a warm, fluffy and crispy baked potato makes these Mediterranean Stuffed Baked potatoes a perfect meal.
Potatoes are an important part of the Mediterranean diet; any type of roasted meat is typically accompanied by those yummy roasted potatoes. You also see potatoes added to vegetable dishes to provide sustenance to an otherwise light meal. And of course, a tavern favorite are the Greek fried potatoes (Patates Tiganites), homemade cut potatoes fried in olive oil. Not so unhealthy since they are fried in olive oil, we do order them at the tavern to share once in a while (pre-quarantine days).
Although baked potatoes are not a traditional preparation, potatoes and feta are. I love the combination of flavors: tangy, salty feta along with warm potato flesh. For this recipe, I made a topping with tangy feta cheese and Kalamata olives. It was delicious. The feta is lightly marinated with herbs and garlic which makes all the difference.
This is a substantial enough serving to be consumed as a meal along with either a leafy green salad or if you have good tomatoes, a tomato-cucumber salad. You can of course serve it as side.
How to Bake a Potato
- Use a starchy or all-purpose potato.
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C)
- Scrub potatoes and dry well, using paper towels
- Coat them with a bit of olive oil. Note: I do not add any salt as the feta and olives have salt.
- Pierce them with a fork a few times
- Place them on a pan and bake for about 60 minutes.
How to Make Herb Marinated Feta
Prepare the herbs you will use. I used fresh mint, fresh oregano and dry oregano as I had some growing on my terrace, but you can also use basil and dill. I also added a garlic clove cut in in four that I removed before adding the topping to the potatoes, but you can use minced garlic if you prefer a more garlicky flavor. Add the herbs to the crumbled feta and mix well.
Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and mix well. The feta will absorb the olive oil.
When crumbling the feta with a fork you want to do it in a way so that you still have chunks, you do not want it to be a paste. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
Assemble the Potatoes
Once the potatoes are ready, slice midway lengthwise and push the ends to spread the potato. Fluff with a fork. Add ½ tsp olive oil and then add ¼ of the marinated feta and 4 sliced kalamata olives.
Mediterranean Stuffed Baked Potatoes with Marinated Feta and Kalamata Olives
Ingredients
For the Baked potatoes
- 4 Medium potatoes
- 1 tsp of olive oil for coating potatoes
For the Marinated Feta
- 6 (170 g) ounces feta
- 1 ½ tablespoon dry oregano
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
- 1 garlic minced or cut in four
- 3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
For Topping
- 16 Kalamata olives pitted and sliced
- 2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350 F (180 C)
- In a bowl roughly crumble the feta with a fork so that you still have chunks, you do not want it to be a paste.
- Add the herbs, garlic and olive oil and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
- Coat the potatoes with olive oil (about ¼ tsp for each), pierce them with the fork and bake for 1 hour.
- When potatoes are ready place them on a plate or latter, slice midway lengthwise and push the ends to spread the potato. Fluff with a fork.
- Drizzle in each one ¼ tsp olive oil, and then stuff with ¼ of the feta mixture (remove garlic if not minced). Top each potato with 4 sliced Kalamata olives.
- Serve.
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I have heart disease, can I use the feta in this recipe?
I wanted to make this tonight, but for some reason I couldn’t find the recipe, so I guessed. I pretty much got it right, but I thought it had tomatoes in it…you know, OliveTomato. I cut open the potato and put in a few halved cherry tomatoes which were warmed up by the really too hot potato. The rest was the same as the recipe. It was really yummy. So, if you are in the mood for some tomato goodness this works.
Nice! Great idea adding the tomato, especially as summer is approaching.
Outstanding baked potato! We loved your marinated feta recipe. I used extra virgin olive oil for a rich flavor, organic kalamata olives, and Idaho Gold potatoes for a buttery flavor.
I enjoyed this recipe so much. Simple ingredients and delicious flavors. I just bought your cookbook and can’t wait to dig into all the yummy recipes.
Thank you Pamela! Hope you enjoy the book and recipes!
Loved the recipe, like so many of your meals, it is easy with basic ingredients. I bought your book and took your 21 day challenge, thank you for all you do. You are much appreciated and admired. God bless
Thank you Jean! Happy you are enjoying the recipes.And thank you for your kind words!