Sunday 3 February 2008

Baked Chickpeas and Sweet Potato Patties


I do love my legumes so when I saw that one of my favourite bloggers, Susan (The Well-Seasoned Cook) is hosting the My Legume Love Affair event, I knew that I should join in.


I don’t have any fancy legume to showcase because my favourite one since moving to Sydney is the humble chickpea. Canned chickpeas, actually. They are versatile, nutritious, quick to use, easy to find and cheap. I always have a few cans handy in the pantry.

I originally intended to make falafel, but ended up making these patties because I wanted to use up the sweet potatoes that have been waiting to be used. I remembered seeing a recipe that used both sweet potatoes and chickpeas, so I thought why not? A bonus - these are baked and not fried.

Kitchen and Tasting notes:
- These were great warm, at room temperature and even cold.
- If you make smaller patties, they are great as finger food, or stuff them in pocket pita bread. Alternatively, make bigger patties and serve it between burger buns.
- I first had these with salad and dipped it in Thai sweet chilli sauce. I think they would be great with a sour cream or yogurt dip.
- I brought some to work for lunch two days later and had it cold in a sandwich. They were still moist and remained flavourful (maybe even a bit more robust since the flavours had time to mingle).

Other chickpea recipes from this blog:
Chickpea and Pink Peppercorn Cob
Chickpea and Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Chickpea and Spinach Curry

No chickpeas in this soup, but it is chock full of legumes and a perfect way to warm up (for those experiencing the northern hemisphere winter):
Easy Peasy Soup


Baked Chickpeas and Sweet Potato Patties
Adapted from Australian Good Taste, March 2007

500g orange sweet potato (kumara), peeled, coarsely chopped
1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
¼ - ½ cup chopped fresh coriander (or any of your fav herbs)
Spices: freshly toasted and ground coriander seeds, cumin powder, sweet paprika
1 bird's eye chilli, chopped finely
2 tbs plain flour
Olive oil spray
Sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Method:
1. Cook the sweet potato in a saucepan of boiling water until tender (about 10 minutes) and drain. Return to the pan. Mash until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cool. If you are in a hurry, place in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool.
2. Sauté the onion and garlic in a little olive oil till onion is translucent and garlic fragrant.
2. Mash the chickpeas in a bowl.
3. Add the chickpeas, onion & garlic mixture, herbs, spices and flour to the sweet potato and combine. Season with salt. Divide the mixture into desired portions and shape each portion into a patty.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Place patties on the lined tray. Spray with olive oil spray. Bake in oven, turning once, for 30 minutes (depends on the size of your patties) or until golden.
5. Serve with salad and sweet chilli sauce.

Edit: I made another batch which had the addition of a generous teaspoon of tahini in the mixture. I then rolled the patties in some untoasted sesame seeds. If you do the latter, be careful when the patties are in the oven since the seeds might brown too quickly. Also, I like Susan's (Food Blogga) suggestion of serving the original patties with tahini sauce (a few recipes here, here and here).

---@@@---

Have great weekend!

---@@@---

52 comments:

jasmine said...

Great flavours. I could go for some right now with some yoghurt/sour cream dip...

j

KJ said...

These sound really delicious. Chickpeas are a wonder, you can do so much with them.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

The sweet potato patties do look just like falafel, and they sound delicious. I've always got a few cans of chickpeas in the pantry, too. Will have to try these!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I have bookmarked these little gems Nora, they sound delicious!!! I have some sweet potatoes in the cupboard calling out to me.

Kathy said...

This looks like a fantastic combination! I'll be trying it for sure. :-)

Greg said...

Fantastic entry for the legume challenge! Yum!!

Lucy said...

Nora, these are sensational!

Tinned chickpeas are wonderful to have on hand. Don't know what I'd do without a few extra hidden at the back of the cupboard.

Love sweet potatoes, too. Baked? Wonderful and light. Just lovely.

test it comm said...

These sound good. Nice photos. I like the sound having these with sweet chili dipping sauce.

Anonymous said...

Great recipe - I love the fact they're baked rather than fried. A few cans of beans are so handy to have around.

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Ooh, these sound fabulous, Nora. I'd love to drizzle them with some creamy tahini sauce too. I'm so making these patties.

Big Boys Oven said...

Oh you are so innovative with those ingredients, really adore them! how delicious they can be!

Susan said...

You know, Nora, these are too good to be true. ; ) Super flavors w/out a bit of fat. Thanks for the great recipe!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

I have sweet potatoes, I have chickpeas! One question, though - what is a brown onion?

These look wonderful and I can't wait to try them.

Deborah said...

These sound so wonderful! I actually have many cans of chickpeas in the pantry, so I will have to try these out!

Nora B. said...

Thanks Jasmine.
--
KJ, yes chickpeas are just so versatile.
--
Lydia, do let me know what you think when you try these.
--
Val, hope that you'll like them.
--
Kathy, I do like the combo.
--
Thanks, Greg.
--
Lucy, thanks dear. Chickpeas are handy to have around. I'm glad to hear that you also used canned ones :-)
--
Kevin, thanks. I can't do without my sweet chilli sauce :-)
--
Susan (Food Blogga), tahini sauce would be fab. You just reminded me of another version that I made which used tahini in the patties, I will edit the recipe soon.
--
Sunny, thanks!
--
Susan (The Well Seasoned Cook), it really does sound too good to be true.
--
Lynn, brown onion is actually just the usual onion that is used for cooking. Basically, not the purple ones.
--
Deborah, I hope that you'll like them. :-)

Eva said...

Provided I skip the coriander leaves, T might become a great fan of this dish!

Wendy said...

Love that these are baked. I make something similar but they are fried. Will have to try out this method. :)

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

These sound delicious. I like all your suggestions for serving them too. Great that they're not fried too.

winedeb said...

I must tell you Nora, these look great and I will give them a try. All of your ingredients are staples in my pantry. Chickpeas are the greatest, as you say, so many things to make from them, hot, cold, chopped, smashed, you name it! I am going to do them as an appetizer with dips for my guests next week, who arrive a week from today - yikes! I better get a move on it! Lovely photos!
You have a great weekend also:)

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

I like the look of these... Like falafel - but not...

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Great idea. It looks great. I never thought of using sweet potatoes with chickpeas.

Warda said...

Hi Nora! If chickpea is one of your favorite vegetables, then you should come live with us, as my hubby can't never get enough of it. We use it a lot in Algerian cooking, especially in soups and tagines! I would never thought of combining it with sweet potato. Sounds too dangerous to resist!

Veron said...

I'm always looking for food that I can eat cold so I can take as a snack with me. These look delicious!

Nora B. said...

Eva, oh just sneak some in there, he won't know... ;-)
--
Wendy, i think that since chickpeas and sweet potatoes are quite moist, baking them doesn't really dry them out.
--
Amanda, thanks!
--
Deb, oh yes, I remember that you mentioned about having some guests staying with you. Good luck with the planning, I am sure that they will be impressed.
--
A Fork Full of spaghetti, yes, it does look like falafel. :-) p/s: thanks for dropping by!
--
Helene, thanks for dropping by. Adding sweet potatoes adds an additional flavour to the patties I think.
--
Warda, but wouldn't your husband and I be fighting over who can have more of all your lovely chickpea dishes? Now that my partner has grown to like chickpeas, I already have to start making bigger batches of the chickpea dishes. ;-)
--
Veron, meet too. Discoevering food that tastes good cold is a great bonus.I am so tired of canned tuna!

Pixie said...

This sounds wonderful, shall bookmark it and give it a try! thanks for sharing

Gloria Baker said...

Nora, this looks really wonderful I like this type of food!!! xxx Gloria

Chou said...

I love chickpeas, too. Yummy looking photos!

Tara the Foodie said...

Ooh, I could just pick one of these off the screen and eat it! They look and sound delicious!

East Meets West Kitchen said...

I want to try them today!
You have an award, come on over! :)

Mike of Mike's Table said...

Those look delicious and sound like perfect finger food. Very nice work!

Cynthia said...

I am most definitely going to try this. The sweet potato acts as the binding agent?

Nora B. said...

Pixie, thanks for dropping.
--
Gloria, thanks. I thought that you would. :-)
--
Chou, thanks!
--
Tara, thanks. They were delicious. I feel like making some today...
--
East Meets West - coming over now!
--
Mike, yes they are great non-messy finger food.
--
Cynthia, yes, the starch in the sweet potato somehow helps bind the chickpeas. That's great for my vegetarian friends.

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Nora, I love this recipe... chick peas and sweet potato sounds very good to me... and even better that they are baked not fried!
I'm adding it to my to do list :)
Thank you for sharing.

I will write more in the email... I just start reading my mail today, this week was extremely busy for me.

Have a wonderful weekend, Margot

Toni said...

Oh Nora -- these speak to me! I absolutely adore the sound of these and I am definitely down for trying this! What a great combo- chickpeas and sweet potatoes. Love it!

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Nora, I will be making those burgers tomorrow... I just sent Michael to get sweet potatoes and tahini for the sauce Today salt fish... :)

Have a good day, Margot

Aimée said...

Love your cheery photo! I love chickpeas, so can imagine these would be quite tasty.

Stella said...

Wow!!! Back chickpeas sounds so healthy, I love this combination!

WokandSpoon said...

That looks lovely! And healthy too!

bee said...

that is simply scrumptious. thanks for the recipe.

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Hi Nora,

Happy Valentine's Day to You as well :)

I made chick pea patties the other day, I was forced to change the recipe a lot because Michael did not buy tinned peas but dry ones... but it came out delicious. I will post pictures soon...

I haven't been posting recently much because I have plenty of work and hardly go sleep befre 2-3 am...

Have a wonderful day!!!

Margot

Nora B. said...

Margot, you seem to be working very hard. But I guess that is good, that means that you are getting lots of business. :-) I look forward to reading how you adapted the recipe with dry chickpeas.
--
Thanks, Toni. They do somehow go well together.
--
Thanks, Aimée. I never get tired of these patties.
--
Valentina & Wok&Spoon, I can truly say that this is a healthy snack. :-)
--
Bee - No problem, hope that you'll give it a try it.

Oh for the love of food! said...

What a delicious snack this makes, Nora - another fantastic school lunchbox idea the girls will absolutely LOVE!
Hope you had a fantastic Valentines Day! xo

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi,
I have 1/2 hour left of today, and wanted to wish you Happy Valentine's Day! :)

Anonymous said...

Yum! These sound great- Love the combination of 2 of may favorite veggies-can't wait to try this twist!

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Weekend finally arrived... I have so much posting to do... I still did not post your chickpea potato patties... this week was extremely busy... I did not go to bed before 2-3 am :(
Hope you had wonderful Valentines! :)
Have a good day, Margot

Helene said...

Yum! I love the combinations of flavor! I bet these would be wonderful with fish!

Anonymous said...

Such a good idea - I image chickpeas and sweet potato go really well together (especially with the dollop of tahini!)

Nora B. said...

Carol, your are right, it would be a good one for the lunch box since it will survive being knocked around and can be eaten at room temperature.

I have a pretty romantic 2 days of Valentine's, even though we don't like the commercial idea of it. :-)

--

East Meets West Kitchen, thanks for spreading the love! ;-)

--

Rebecca, thanks for dropping by. Yes, I do think they make a great combo.

--

Margot, oh don't worry about that, more importantly have more rest if you can.

--

Helene, that's a good idea, I never thought about serving it with something else, fish would be a good option.

--

Sophie, thanks for dropping by. Yes, the flavours and textures go well together.

Paola Westbeek said...

brilliant! this look right up my alley. will definitely try them sometime.

paola

Abitofafoodie said...

Sweet potatoes and chickpeas sounds like a winning combination! I shall have to try these wonderful patties - thank you for sharing them.

Anonymous said...

Hi there Nora B, I made your fritters over the weekend and they were great.

I added fresh mint and used a pre-made Moroccan spice mix. Plus I didn't use the flour. Otherwise I made them as per your instructions. The recipe worked really well and I like the fact they're baked rather than fried.

One question: have you tried freezing them?

I think these are going to become a regular meal in our house.

Kandy said...

Thankyou so very much!!!! I've been looking for a baked chickpea burger recipe and could only find fatty fried recipes thankyou this recipe is definately going in my recipe box! ;) have a great day!