30-minute Falafel Sandwich (With Sweet Potato)
Golden, crispy falafel made of sweet potatoes, chickpeas and spices. So delicious stuffed into fresh bread with hummus, Greek yogurt and snow pea shoots, or just layered across a fresh salad.
Servings: 10 sandwiches
Ingredients
For the falafel
- 1 medium to large sweet potato peeled
- 1 can chickpeas cooked (14 ounces)
- ½ medium onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ lemon (juice)
- sesame seeds for scattering over (optional)
- ½ cup olive oil (for cooking) You'll need only about ⅓ of this for each batch of 10 falafel.
- 10 bread rolls or enough for however many you're serving (The bread can be pita bread, slices of focaccia or ciabatta, Turkish rolls, or just nice slices of artisan bread.)
For the toppings (amounts are approximate and depends how many sandwiches you want to make at one time)
- 3 cups hummus either around two batches of this homemade hummus or just use store bought (recipe for the homemade hummus is also below in the notes section)
- 12 ounces cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
- 5 salad onions sliced into small lengths
- 5 ounces snow pea shoots (also called snow pea sprouts) Note you can use any kind of sprouts or something else fresh and green such as watercress, arugula/rocket, baby spinach or even just crisp lettuce.
- 1 cup Greek yogurt (for a small amount for each sandwich)
Instructions
- Pierce the peeled sweet potato a few times with a sharp knife or fork. Cook in a microwave for about 10 minutes or until soft (you can roast them if you prefer at 400F/200C for about 45 minutes or so or until soft).1 medium to large sweet potato
- In the meantime, mash the chickpeas and other falafel ingredients (apart from the sesame seeds, if using) in a medium to large bowl with a potato masher or fork.1 can chickpeas, ½ medium onion, 1 garlic clove, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour, ½ lemon
- When the sweet potato is soft, mash it into the other ingredients in the bowl. Then cover the mixture and chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.
- Take spoonfuls of mixture about the size of a walnut and form into balls. Flatten the balls into a patty. If you like, press a few sesame seeds into them on both sides.sesame seeds for scattering over
- Heat up 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil on a medium high heat in a large frying pan or skillet. When quite hot, fill the pan with patties (about 10 for a large frying pan). Let them cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until golden and crispy.½ cup olive oil
- Mix the chopped tomatoes with the salad onions. Spread the sandwich bread with a few tablespoons of hummus, then top with some of the tomato/onion mixture and 2 to 3 handfuls of the greens. Then top with about 3 of the crispy falafel (for each sandwich). Finally, drizzle a spoonful of Greek yogurt over the top before closing the sandwich. Enjoy!10 bread rolls, 3 cups hummus, 12 ounces cherry tomatoes, 5 salad onions, 5 ounces snow pea shoots, 1 cup Greek yogurt
Notes
Air frying instructions: You can either pan-fry or air fry the falafel. Air fry for 15 minutes. Spray the air fryer basket and falafel lightly with olive oil and cook for 15 minutes at 375F/190C, turning half way.
Serving: I would highly recommend making a batch of your own hummus for this recipe. My go-to recipe is this quick hummus and 2-ingredient flatbread.
This incredible 5-minute tahini dressing goes really well, too.
Storage instructions: You can keep the dough either in a bowl or already shaped into falafel covered in the fridge for up to a few days.
You can also freeze the uncooked falafel between sheets of baking paper in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before pan-frying as normal.
Homemade hummus: If you have a few extra minutes to make your own hummus, here is a great recipe. This recipe makes enough for all 10 sandwiches. Obviously you can adjust the ingredients down if you don't want to make this many sandwiches.
Simply blend together 2 cans cooked chickpeas (reserve the water), 2 small garlic cloves, juice of 2 small lemons, 1 teaspoon salt, 6 tablespoons olive oil. Add around 6 tablespoons of the reserved chickpea water (or enough to get smooth and creamy hummus).
Nutrition
Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 697mg | Potassium: 426mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2670IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 3mg
