Spicy corn chickpea burgers WITH SMOKY SWEET POTATO WEDGES

Spicy corn chickpea burgers packed with spices, herbs and a hit of lemon zest, these vegan burgers ensure you get all the joy of tucking into a burger – all those beautiful contrasting textures. Making these veg-packed beauties gives us two of our 5-a-day, and because they’re only full of the good stuff, they’re super-healthy, but seriously satisfying, too. This recipe makes four burgers, so get your patties made at step 6 and freeze any remaining depending on how many mouths you’re feeding. If you’ve got any salady bits and bobs hanging around, serve them up alongside your burger.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
2. Scrub the sweet potatoes clean, then halve and cut into wedges. After that sprinkle over a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and 1½ teaspoons of paprika (save the rest for the burgers). Drizzle with ½ tablespoon of olive oil, toss to coat and spread in one layer onto two baking trays.
3. Bake in the hot oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.
4. While your wedges are cooking, drain the chickpeas and sweetcorn and place in a food processor. Pick the coriander leaves, then add half to the processor along with all of the stalks. If you don’t have a food processor, place in a bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork.
5. Add the spices, flour and a pinch of sea salt, grate in the lemon zest, then pulse until combined, but not smooth – you want to retain a bit of texture. If you don’t have a food processor, combine with a fork, then scrunch with clean hands
6. On a flour-dusted surface, divide and shape the mixture into four equally sized patties (roughly 2cm thick). Pop onto a tray and place in the fridge for around 30 minutes to firm up.
7. Heat a splash of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the patties and cook for around 10 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, turning halfway.
8. Click off 4 nice lettuce leaves, then finely slice the tomatoes horizontally.
9. Halve the burger buns, then squeeze a large dollop of ketchup onto the base of each one (toast them if you like), then top with the burgers.
10. Layer over a couple of slices of tomato, a lettuce leaf, a few coriander leaves and finally the burger tops.
11. Chop the remaining lettuce with any leftover tomato, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, add a squeeze of lemon juice, season, toss to coat and serve up with the burgers and sweet potato wedges.

Spicy corn chickpea burgers

Recipe: Jamie Oliver