Sweet Potato Falafel Recipe
Serves
4
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes (about 350g)
- 30g coriander leaves and stems
- 25g flat leaf parsley leaves
- 2 large spring onions, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1tsp ground cumin
- 1tsp ground coriander
- ¼tsp cayenne pepper
- 1tsp baking powder
- 60g chickpea flour
- sesame seeds, to sprinkle (optional)
- salt, to taste
To serve
- diced cucumber
- tomato thinly sliced
- red cabbage
- roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
- juice of ½ lemon
- freshly ground black pepper
- Tahini-lemon dressing
- pita breads
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas 7.
Poke the sweet potatoes with a fork a couple of times and place on the oven rack in the preheated oven. Roast for 40–60 minutes, until soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, peel off and discard the skin.
Meanwhile, put the coriander, parsley, large spring onions and garlic into a small food processor and pulse until everything is finely chopped. Alternatively, you can very finely chop these ingredients with a knife.
In a large bowl, mash the sweet potato flesh with a fork, masher or hand-held mixer until smooth. Season with salt, add the spices, baking powder and chickpea (gram) flour and stir vigorously with a rubber spatula or hand-held mixer until everything is well combined. Stir in the herb, onion and garlic mixture until evenly distributed. Let the dough rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven again to 200°C/gas 6. Scoop out portions of dough with a spoon and then lightly roll into small balls using damp hands to prevent sticking. Assemble the falafel on the prepared baking tray and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes until golden on the side touching the tray. To serve, combine some diced cucumber, tomato, red cabbage and parsley in a bowl with the fresh lemon juice and a little salt and pepper. Serve the falafel with the cucumber-cabbage salad and tahini-lemon dressing either in a bowl or packed into a pita bread.
Serve the falafel with the cucumber-cabbage salad and tahini-lemon dressing either in a bowl or packed into a pita bread.
Recipe from the Vital Vegan by Leah Vanderveldt, published by Ryland Peters & Small. Photography by Clare Winfield.
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