I wanted to make a meal fit for kings and to show our house guest and good friend that eating vegan doesn’t have to be a lettuce leaf and glass of water, so I opted to make some falafel, I know, it’s a safe bet, but I wanted to make something that is quick and easy to recreate.

The verdict in, he LOVED it, it’s great that he enjoys spicy food like we do as you can do so much with a full spice cupboard, so I am delighted that our first dinner went according to plan!

Sweet Potato & Onion Falafel served with Home-Made Spicy Chips

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)

1 onion, chopped

1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 2 tablespoons of warm water

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon chilli flakes

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Handful of fresh coriander roughly chopped

Method

1. In a bowl mix the flax with the water and leave to thicken up

2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius

3. Add the peeled sweet potatoes to a pan of boiling water and cook for 15 minutes or until tender, drain and pop in a blender with the onion, garlic, chickpeas and all the spices and blitz until all combined and smooth

4. Add the flax/water, the lemon juice and the coriander and mix through

5. Slowly add the flour and baking powder until the mixture becomes stiffer, I used a little more than a cup of whole wheat flour as my sweet potatoes were quite moist

6. On a lined baking tray (I used 2) and using a large spoon or like me a cookie dough/Ice Cream scoop, form mounds of the mix on the baking tray and press down softly with a fork to even them out in shape

7. Pop in the oven for 20 minutes, carefully turning half way through

I served my falafel with some whole wheat pitta bread, a mix of sweetcorn and peas and oven baked home made chips (chop your potatoes into chips, pop them in a pan of boiling water for 5-8 minutes, drain then put into oven trays, sprinkle with paprika and black pepper and pop them in the oven before making your falafel – will be ready the same time)