Sweet potato (and chickpea) falafels

I love falafels and I love sweet potato so when I saw this recipe on Tesco’s real food website I knew I was on to a winner. Thanks to the sweet potato, you secretly up another veg portion and it also adds a subtle sweetness to the falafels.

a vegan friendly dinner 

Sweet potatoes are one of my favourite staples and are so versatile to cook with. Plus they have more health benefits than the caste of TOWIE has had surgery (and that's a lot)!

Sweet potatoes:

• Are a good source of vitamin C
• Contain vitamin D which helps regulate mood and energy levels
• A great source of magnesium which helps regulate stress
• Assist in the production of collagen (vital for youthful looking skin)

inside is firm and textured 

The ingredients for this recipe to are pretty simple, and they don't take long to make at all, so would be easy to whip up a batch after work for dinner, I made a batch of these and popped several servings in the freezer for a later day.

chickpeas are a great source of protein 

To keep it healthy, just pop them in the oven to cook or fry them in a little oil - use spray oil as I did and it's only one calorie per spray.

All you need is:

2 sweet potatoes

Tin of chickpeas

Handful of parsley

2 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp cumin

1 tbsp tahini paste

Squeeze of lemon juice

Cut up the sweet potato in to large chunks, toss in a little olive oil and roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes. Cook until soft.

Once cooked, place the sweet potato in a food processor  along with the chickpeas and other spices and iingredientsand simply pulse until well combined

One you have your smooth paste, simply take the mixture and roll a small amount into a ball (I did slightly flatten mine for easy frying)

fry for a few minutes each side...

...until golden 

In a frying pan, heat a little oil and place the falafels on to the frying pan, cooking each side for a few minutes, just to crisp up on the outside. 

delicious! 

Once cooked, serve and enjoy immediately!

I served mine on a bed of spinach and garlic mushrooms. Mmm. For a more traditional keeping, how about serving them with salad and warm pitta breads. Any leftovers make a great item in your lunch box the next day too as they are just as nice cold! 

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