sweet potato falafel pitas

13 Apr

this dish was inspired because i love falafel and i didn’t want my sweet potato to go bad… nothing bothers me more than wasting food.

have you met falafel? wow, what a fun and delicious food. mostly made from ground chickpeas, these fun little friend balls act as a great meat substitute and are a good protein source. i like the texture as well. the flavour is different, i really like them. i had falafel for the first time at a pool hall in downtown denver, of all places. i forget how they prepared it but ever since then i was like, “why don’t i buy that at home?” well, 8 years later, i did.

here are the {simple} ingredients :

– 1 large sweet potato, diced

– handfull carrots, chopped width-wise

– 1 can coconut milk

– indian spice seasoning {frontier makes a good one}

– 1 cup brown basmati rice {can substitute white basmati – but the brown rice gives you more nutrients and fiber}

– 6 falafel balls, cut in half

– pita bread of choice {you know whole grain or whole wheat is better!}

start by rinsing your rice and cooking – usually the ratio is 1 part rice to 2 parts water. should take about 15-20 minutes to do the rice so get that going before you prepare your veggies… i usually cook on medium to medium high and keep stirring as it cooks… if you have a rice cooker, even better and i’m jealous! 🙂

to begin, chop up the potato and carrots. we want them to be bite-sized since we are putting them in a pita pocket… heat about a tablespoon of butter {clarified butter is my new jam!} on medium in a skillet and toss the potatoes in first. let them cook down a bit then add in your carrots.

once your veggies begin to soften, add in your curry spice. i just wing it, as usual – add in a dash here and there until i get the flavour right… remember you can always add more, so start with a little and add as you go… if you find your veggies start sticking to the pan, you can always add in a little veggie stock to saute them in…

once the spices are mixed in, add in your coconut milk – the whole can. this is going to create a nice creamy sauce for us… keep on low and stir frequently to blend together and soak up the flavours – yum!

while your sauce is simmering, cut your falafel balls in half and we are going to just heat them up on a small skillet. you could use the microwave if you wanted, but i try to avoid using one in general, so i stovetop heat most everything…i also cut my pitas in half like so :

now, put your falafel halves cut-side down and turn the heat to medium-low. heat these until slightly crisp…

check on your sauce – it may start to bubble as it comes together – that is GOOD! 🙂 just keep stirring it as it thickens up a bit. double check on your rice…

everything should be coming together nicely now… once rice is done and falafel is heated, your sauce should be a bubbling lovely creamy collaboration of yumminess, so let’s remove from heat and serve it up.

i served mine with a small salad and fresh san marzitos {san marzano’s cousin from the village} the sweet potatoes give us tons of vitamins A & C, as well as a healthy dose of potassium and beta carotene.

i put in my rice first, then the falafel balls, then smothered the whole thing with our creamy sweet potato sauce.