Back in July this year, my parents came to Brisbane for a mini holiday and to watch me walk across the stage as I graduated from university. We spent the week in the beautiful sea-side town of Caloundra on The Sunshine Coast, chatting, wandering the local markets, exploring the nearby mountains and towns, strolling along the sandy beaches, and eating, lots and lots of eating.
I find, when I spend time with my parents, I instantly revert back to being a child. I love having them dote on me, listen to my every word, and tell me how amazing I am – seriously, where else do you get that kind of unconditional love? There’s always a never-ending flow from my parents.
Of course, living alone generally means cooking and eating alone. So, whenever I get the chance, I love to try out a new recipe creation on unsuspecting victims. And that’s exactly what I did while my parents were here. These chickpea patties are one of those creations.
I’ve added a hint of chili for a little kick and gorgeous grounding cinnamon which always complements sweet potato so well.
Can I let you in on a little secret? These guys actually taste even better the next day once the flavours have settled, and they are just as delicious cold as they are warm. So they make perfect additions to lunchboxes or ripped up and layered onto a sandwich. Yum!
If you’re wondering, they freeze very well too. You can pop unbaked patties into a container in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat, just allow them to defrost and then bake as normal.
I like to make a double batch so I always have some on hand for barbecues or a quick dinner.
Enjoy.
What goes in
Makes approximately 10 patties
1/2 a medium sweet potato, peeled and diced (approximately 2 cups)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Olive oil for frying
1 brown onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
A sprinkle of chili flakes
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons of buckwheat flour, plus additional for dusting
The doing
Preheat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius and line an oven tray with baking paper.
Steam the diced sweet potato and carrots until soft.
While the vegetables are steaming, pop the chickpeas into a food processor and blitz until mashed down. If you don’t have a food processor, you can easily use a potato masher or a fork will also do the trick. Place the mashed chickpeas in a large bowl.
Heat the olive oil in a small fry pan. Add the onion and garlic and fry until the onion becomes soft. Add the mixture to the mashed chickpeas.
Once the sweet potato and carrots are soft, pop them into your food processor and blitz until mashed.
Add the mashed vegetables, tomato paste and spices to the chickpea mixture. Mix well to combine. Finish by mixing through the buckwheat flour.
On a small plate, sprinkle some buckwheat flour. Using your hands, take some of the mixture and form a patty. The mixture will be quite wet but that’s not a problem. Pop the patty onto the plate and sprinkle with the flour. The patty should then become easier to handle and you can finish forming it’s shape.
Place the patty onto the oven tray and then continue until all the mixture has been used.
Pop your patties in the oven for about 30 minutes until they start to golden. I’m sure you could also grill or fry these if your prefer.
I served mine with a simple salad of leafy greens and zucchini noodles sprinkled with lemon juice.
Looks yummy, Alana! Can’t wait to try it! Thanks!
My pleasure Barbara. Enjoy xx
Yum, these sound delicious! I love that you can freeze them too. Thank you for linking up with us for Fabulous Foodie Fridays.
Thanks for having us Lauren! Quick frozen dinners are always a win in my house x
These look divine Alana. I’ve just started on a diet and am trying to restrict myself to healthy food so these will be perfect. I love anything with sweet potato.
Hi Anne, I love sweet potato too. So versatile. It’s perfect if you’re trying to stay away from sugar as it kinda does help with satisfying a sweet tooth. Let us know if there’s anything specific you’re looking for in recipes while you’re on your healthy food adventure. I’d love to help if I can xx
These sound amazing, I love anything with sweet potato and I’m always looking for new veggie burger ideas so I shall have to whip some up and stock the freezer!
Hi Liz, I’m hearing ya! Sweet potato totally rocks! 🙂 xx
Hey there, these are looking delicious! Is the buckwheat flour absolutely essential, though? If it’s for crisping, could I use rice flour instead?
Hi Melanie, you can use any flour you like! xx