🥔 Loaded Mediterranean Baked Potato
Serves: 2
Time: ~1 hour
Ingredients
For the potatoes
- 2 large baking potatoes (Russet works best)
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Mushroom & spinach topping
- 250 g mushrooms, sliced
- 3 large handfuls fresh spinach
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- Salt & black pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Avocado-feta topping
- 1 large ripe avocado, cubed
- 100 g feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro or dill, chopped
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- 1–2 tsp lemon juice
- Pinch of black pepper
Sauce
- 3 tbsp Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1–2 tbsp water
- Salt
Optional but excellent: a spoonful of harissa, chili oil, or roasted red-pepper sauce.
1. Bake the potatoes
Heat oven to 220°C / 425°F.
Scrub and dry the potatoes. Pierce them several times with a fork, then rub with olive oil, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
Place directly on the oven rack or on a baking tray.
Bake for 50–65 minutes, until the skin is crisp and a knife slides easily into the center.
Don’t wrap them in foil — that steams the skin instead of making it crisp.
2. Make the mushrooms
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the mushrooms in a single layer. Leave them alone for 3–4 minutes so they brown rather than steam.
Stir and continue cooking until deeply golden, about 7–10 minutes.
Add garlic, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook another 1–2 minutes.
3. Add the spinach
Throw the spinach into the same pan.
Cook for 2–3 minutes, tossing until wilted.
Finish with lemon juice.
Taste and adjust salt — this layer should be quite savory because the potato itself is mild.
4. Make the avocado-feta mixture
Gently combine:
avocado + feta + parsley + cilantro/dill + chili flakes + lemon juice + black pepper.
Don’t mash it completely. You want big creamy pieces of avocado and chunks of feta.
5. Make the sauce
Whisk together:
- Greek yogurt
- tahini
- garlic
- lemon juice
- salt
- enough water to make it drizzleable
It should be creamy but pour easily.
6. Build it 🔥
When the potatoes are done, cut a deep X across the top and squeeze the sides gently to open them.
Fluff the inside with a fork and add a tiny pinch of salt.
Layer in this order:
crispy potato → garlicky spinach → caramelized mushrooms → avocado → lots of feta → herbs → yogurt-tahini sauce → chili flakes
Finish with a drizzle of good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
⭐ My secret for making it taste restaurant-quality
Add ½ tsp smoked paprika + ½ tsp cumin to the mushrooms, and let them get really dark before adding the spinach. The contrast between the deeply browned mushrooms, creamy avocado/feta, crisp potato skin and lemony sauce is what makes this dish.
If you want it even closer to the photograph, add a layer of roasted cherry tomatoes or a little spicy roasted-red-pepper sauce underneath the spinach.
