Paprika-spiced sweet potato, bean and tahini patties {London marathon fundraising}

At first glance, these sweet potato patties may not look very exciting. I am sure we've all come across sweet potato veggie burgers before, and nice as they may be, they're not exactly novel. However, I can say with all honesty that these are the best veggie patties, of any type, that I have ever had! The texture is almost cake like, and the flavours are sweet and smoky and full-bodied and altogether delightful.

I am particularly taken with these because I made the recipe up as I went along. It could have turned out terribly. Instead, it seems I was channeling some hitherto unseen kitchen intuition. I wouldn't change a thing next time around. I think the magic ingredient was besan (chickpea) flour, which I suspect lends these patties their cake-like texture. Savoury cakes probably don't sound very nice, but I promise these work!

I used 2 cups of mushrooms in these, but if you don't like mushrooms, don't despair. You could probably substitute other vegetables instead, but you can't taste the mushrooms anyway. I also whizzed most of the ingredients together in a food processor, so there are no mushroom 'bits' to be detected. I kept sweetcorn back to stir in at the end though, and liked the contrast of corn pieces against the otherwise smooth texture.

These are enjoyable hot or cold and I liked them with a simple kale salad, drizzled with balsamic vinegar or tomato sauce or more tahini. They could be eaten in burger form too, or paired with quinoa and cooked vegetables. I even ate a few completely plain.

There is a little bit of preparation required for these, but not too much - and I do think they're worth it. The recipe also makes quite a large batch, so I froze half of mine (they defrost fine on low heat in the oven).

Paprika-spiced sweet potato, bean and tahini patties

Vegan, gluten free patties that are cake-like in texture and delicious in flavour

Makes 24 patties

Food processor needed

Author: Bite-sized thoughts

Print recipe

Ingredients

2 medium-large sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled

1 bunch spring onions, ends trimmed and roughly chopped

1 red pepper, roughly chopped

2 cups mushrooms, washed and ends removed

1-1/2 cups cooked haricot or cannelloni beans

1/4 cup tahini

2 tbsp tomato sauce (I used the commercial type with salt and sugar - if you prefer not to use that, substitute 1 tbsp tomato paste + 1 tsp liquid sweetener of choice + 2 tsp water + 1/4 tsp salt)

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp chilli powder (optional)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt, to taste

Few decent cracks of black pepper

1 cup cooked corn

1 cup + 1 cup besan (chickpea) flour, divided

Method

Preheat your oven to 180'C and line three baking trays with non-stick paper.

Combine the cooked sweet potato, spring onions, red pepper, mushrooms and beans in a food processor and process until well combined. Add the tahini, tomato sauce, paprika, chilli powder, salt and pepper and process to incorporate. 

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the corn and 1 cup of the besan flour. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining flour gradually, stirring to incorporate. The mixture should approximate the consistency of cake batter.

Using a dessertspoon or soup spoon, scoop pattie-sized dollops of mixture onto your prepared baking trays, leaving a few centimetres between each pattie. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, checking at the 30 minute mark.

                                                                                                                               

This post is part of my fundraising efforts for the 2015 London Marathon. I am running for Beat, the UK eating disorder charity. If you liked this recipe and are in a position to make a donation, I'd be grateful for any contribution you could spare! You can make a donations of any size on my fundraising page.

Check out my introductory post and my fundraising page for more information. 

Days until the marathon: 79                    Training miles logged in 2015: 134.97

                                                                                                                               

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