Recipes: Roasted Sweet Potato Falafel Wraps with Garlic Tahini Sauce

Posted by Claire Ragozzino

In what feels like swimming in a sea of sweets lately, I thought I’d offer a brief respite in a savory recipe.  This recipe ties together a series of posts I did a while back. Remember that radish & hemp seed tabbouleh and the roasted red beet hummus?  These two piled into this falafel wrap have become one of my favorite meals over the years. Tried and true, you can’t go wrong with these flavors – especially when it’s topped with za’atar and a good olive oil! I originally found this falafel recipe from 101 Cookbooks back in college, and over the years added a pinch of this and splash that to bump up the spice factor.  It’s become a year-round go-to now.

Though I’ve been making variations of this falafel for years, I only recently documented this recipe for a guest post in Danielle LaPorte’s new magazine launching in 2014.  How cool is that? I’m eager to see it in print and share the final work with you all!  If you haven’t checked out Miss LaPorte’s work yet, make sure you do and also sign up for her mailing list.  Her “daily truthbombs” are gold nuggets of wisdom and inspiration to reflect on and live by throughout your day. But her Desire Map is where it’s really at.  It’s a unique tool to help you craft an intention around the life you want to live, to identify not only the goals but to cultivate the feelings and experiences you want to have in the process of getting there.  As the end of the year nears and we start to shift our attention on our intentions for the new year, you might consider checking out this resource to help you craft your dreams and passions into reality!

And lastly, what would a good recipe be without some good music? May I present to you No.05 – Kitchen Mixtape: Beginner’s Falafel, a glitchy mix of my favorite Flying Lotus, Bonobo, Burial and Blue Foundation tracks. 

SWEET POTATO FALAFEL WRAP WITH GARLIC TAHINI SAUCE

Falafel
2 large sweet potatoes
1 cup chickpea flour (or quinoa flour)
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt (or sea salt of your choice)
pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Wrap whole sweet potatoes individually in foil, place on a baking sheet in oven and roast for 1 ½ hours, or until soft.  Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing skins. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees.

Peel off and discard the skins.  Place in bowl and mash with a fork.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Shape falafel mixture into small 2-inch loosely formed balls, spacing evenly on your baking sheet.  Sprinkle each falafel ball with paprika.  Place into the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes.

Makes about 32 falafel balls

Garlic Tahini Sauce
1 cup tahini paste
2 cloves garlic, grated
juice of 2 lemons
juice of 1 orange
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt (or sea salt of your choice)
1 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until well combined.  Store leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 1 week.

Makes 2 cups

To Assemble: Take two large swiss chard leaves and turn them with the spine facing up.  Then take a spoon and run it along the spine of each leaf to crush and flatten it, this makes it easier to roll and eat. Lay one leaf on top of the other for a double layer wrap. Drizzle several heaping spoonfuls of the tahini sauce along the center, then layer with chopped cabbage, sliced tomato, and the warm falafel.  Garnish with fresh parsley and a sprinkle of za’atar.