Louella Berryman

I came up with this recipe in a moment of inspiration in bed this morning, I’ve been trying to use up my hoard of sweet potatoes for ages! This is a really delicious way to do that, loosely based on Jamie Oliver’s lamb kofte in flavour. I used honey and crushed sunflower seeds for texture and a crunchy crust for the kofte, and the sweetness worked really well with the potato. I had this in a wrap for convenience but you could also serve in a pitta or on it’s own as a salad! I was suprised at how well the kofte turned out, they’re quite soft and delicate in texture so be careful when removing them from the saucepan and make sure that you fry them enough so that they have slightly crispy edges!

Shopping List

1/2 a large sweet potato or 1 small one

1/2 a red pepper

35g quinoa

water

greek basil (I got mine from asda)

1/2 a lemon

soft salad leaves

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp chilli flakes

1tsp thyme

1 dessert spoon runny honey

handful of crushed sunflower seeds

natural yoghurt

olive oil

Method

Peel and chop your sweet potato, then just cover with water in a small saucepan and put on a high heat for 20 minutes. At the same time, measure out 35g of quinoa and put with 5 parts water in a saucepan on a high heat also. Both pans should cook the contents within 30 minutes. The quinoa is ready when all the water has gone from the pan, the sweet potato is ready when you are able to stick a knife all the way through with ease.

When the sweet potato is cooked, drain and put into a saucepan and mash until smooth. Add the garam masala, thyme and chilli flakes to the mash along with salt and pepper, mix thoroughly.

Shape the potato into four or five small koftes, they are like long falafels! The mixture will be delicate, so you can cover your hands in flour to make it easier or just be careful when handling the potato. Leave to rest on a board. Take the quinoa off the heat and pour into a bowl, add the juice of half a lemon and a large handful of chopped basil.

Chop up the red pepper and put into the oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. While the pepper is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add the kofte and cook on each side (creating 4 sides) for 2 minutes. Turn once the side is golden to create a crispy coating to the potato. Once they are done, transfer back to the board. Squeeze over the honey and sprinkle with the crushed sunflower seeds.

Once the peppers are done, transfer all to a plate with a bed of lettuce on it. Mix the peppers into the quinoa and serve with yoghurt! This is really tasty and healthy, perfect for a summer lunch and can also be easily made for a crowd!