This falafel mix is tasty, nutritious and can be left in the fridge waiting to be shaped and fried or pre-moulded and frozen for another day. Falafel wraps are a perfect lunch, or you could make a dinner out of them with a tabouleh salad and some dips and sauces on the side. These are not the dry kind of falafel – they’re soft and moreish and lightly spiced with turmeric, a dash of ras-al-hanout, cumin and coriander seed and filled with chunks of sweet potato. Serve with loads of aromatic fresh coriander and some hummus for a winner!

Makes about 20-25 small falafel.

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

• 400g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ras-al-hanout (optional)
• 1/2 tbsp cumin seed, ground or whole
• 1 tsp coriander seed, ground or crushed
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• 1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
• 1/2 sweet potato, cut into small chunks
• handful fresh coriander

Method

Start off by frying the onions with the spices. Add a drizzle of olive oil to a frying pan and throw in the onions and all the spices, including the ras-al-hanout and chilli flakes if using. Cook for 3 minutes before adding the garlic. Fry the concoction until the onion is translucent and it’s all smelling delicious.

Drain the chickpeas and pat dry with some kitchen paper. Don’t worry about getting them totally dry, but if there’s too much water you’ll need to add extra flour to ensure the mixture stays in its ball shape once moulded.

Put the chickpeas, flour and onion/spice/garlic mixture into a blender. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and blend until smooth.

In the same frying pan, add a little bit more oil and fry the sweet potato chunks. Cook until soft but not mushy, so for about 7-10 minutes, depending on how big the pieces are. Add to the blender and whizz for a few seconds so the sweet potato is not fully smooth and there are still some whole bits. Stir the chopped coriander.

The mixture can be kept in the fridge. Mould into small balls and fry in oil on a medium-high heat, turning regularly to make sure all sides become beautiful golden brown. I suggest moulding the falafels before freezing them. This way they can be cooked in the oven from frozen.