Entertaining + Fun: Sweet Potato & Chickpea Burgers with Tahini Yoghurt // I Ate That

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Burgers with Tahini Yoghurt // The Sugar Hit

Oh I most certainly did eat that. The ‘that’ in question is a crispy edged, deliciously spiced, sweet potato and chickpea burger slathered in tahini yoghurt. This recipe is based on one that my mum makes for sweet potato fritters – they are delicious and we used to eat them with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce for a funky take on eggs Benedict.

I decided to burgerize those light, herby fritters and this is what I came up with! The burger version turned out so well that it’s now a regular in my kitchen. Here’s hoping it can become a regular in yours!

And yes, this is a totally vegetarian dish. Not vegan, though. Can I be honest with ya’ll? I’m 24 and I live on a budget. Eating something that tastes this good, which has plenty of protein and doesn’t include expensive meat just makes sense.

If there are members of your share-house, family or just your partner who are iffy on skipping the meat, then I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that making a meatless burger is the way to go! Especially if it’s crispy and has plenty of texture and flavour like this baby. And it’s so easy! A 30-minute meal MAX. Here’s how it’s done!

The burgers come together super quickly, so I like to make the tahini yoghurt first. It’s my new condiment obsession – on a piece of grilled salmon, or on felafel, or just to dunk an entire bowl of sweet potato chips into, it’s SO GOOD. And it’s as simple as dumping some yoghurt, tahini (aka sesame seed paste), salt pepper and lemon juice into a bowl and stirring it together. Sometimes I add a little garlic, and sometimes I don’t – totally up to you.

Then I throw some rinsed, canned chickpeas into a bowl, grate up a sweet potato – you want about 2 heaping cupfuls, and crack in an egg.

To that mixture, I add some flour, ground coriander, smoked paprika and dried oregano. A little chopped fresh parsley or some sliced spring onions are great if you have them, but today I went without.

From there, just squelch the mixture together with your hands, aiming to break up some of the chickpeas and leave others whole for a nice variety of textures. Then shape the mix into four patties and cook in a little olive oil in a frying pan until golden brown and crisp on both sides.

Then it’s time to build your burger! I always like to let people assemble their own burgers, firstly because it means they can customize it however they like. And secondly because it’s super fun, and I would feel bad hogging all of the stacking good times to myself.

These patties are really delicious, and I like to taste the sweet potato, so I make mine fairly simple with just the yoghurt, some rocket (aka arugula) and red onion. But hey, throw on hot sauce, sliced tomato, coleslaw, mayo, barbecue sauce or whatever you like! I don’t want to tell you how to burger. Just know that you should burger. You should THIS burger.

P.S. Burger is a verb now.

Sweet Potato & Chickpea Burgers with Tahini Yoghurt // I Ate That

2 tbsp tahini
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper
optional: 1 small clove of garlic, grated or minced

⅔ cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 egg
1 + ½ tsps smoke paprika
pinch of salt
olive oil, to cook
salad of your choice, to serve

To make the yoghurt, simply stir all the ingredients together - the sauce may seem grainy and thick at first, but keeps stirring and it will smooth out. If it's too thick, add a little water.
To make the burgers, wash the sweet potato and coarsely grate it to yield about 2 heaped cups. Place in a bowl with the chickpeas, egg, flour and spices and use your hands to squelch the mixture together. You wan to break up some of the chickpeas and leave others whole.
Heat a non-stick frying pan with a thin layer of olive oil over a medium-high heat.
Add the salt to the burger mixture and stir through (you want to add it just before cooking, otherwise it will leech liquid out of the sweet potato, making the mixture too wet).
Scoop out a quarter of the mixture at a time, shape into a patty with your hands and place into the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes a side, or until deep golden and crisp.
To assemble a burger, slather on plenty of the tahini yoghurt, add a sweet potato patty and top with the salad fixings of your choice!