Spinach & Roast Sweet Potato Saffins®

I make these with Gram (chickpea) flour, so they’re also gluten-free and though the quantities I use are much bigger I’ve scaled them down, so you should get 12 Saffins...or thereabouts!

1 medium-sized sweet potato

350g fresh spinach

4-5 spring onions, or 1 medium-sized onion

A good squeeze of lemon juice

175ml olive oil (or 50/50 olive oil&sunflower oil)

85g Gram (chickpea) flour

1/3 teaspoon baking powder (gluten free)

1/3 teaspoon salt

Freshly grated nutmeg

300ml sparkling water

 

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C

2. Peel and dice sweet potato in to fairly chunky pieces (approx 1.5cm), season with a little salt, drizzle with a little of the olive oil, spread on greaseproof paper on a baking tray and bake for approx 15 minutes, turning over at least once; put to one side until needed

3. Wash spinach and steam in a pan for 5 minutes with whatever water clings to it during washing; strain, squeeze dry, coarsely chop and put to one side until needed

4. Wash, top and tail and finely chop spring onions including the green bits (or finely chop the onion) and gently soften in half the olive oil for 3-4 minutes; when done stir in the spinach with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a little freshly grated nutmeg; put to one side until needed

5. Sift chickpea flour with baking powder and salt and add a little more freshly grated nutmeg

6. In a bowl whisk remaining olive oil with half the sparkling water

7. Mix in sifted gram flour a little at a time and continue whisking until all flour mix is used adding more sparkling water as needed until you have a smooth thick batter

8. Fold onion and spinach mix in the batter using a spatula

9. Finally fold in the diced roast sweet potato to achieve a deep-green-gold-speckled mix; try not to overmix

10. Grease mini muffin tin with oil, OR do as I do and use silicone mini muffin cases

11. Using two teaspoons pile enough mix ensuring you pack plenty of sweet potato in each case so they look like little golden mountain peaks

12. Turn oven down to 180C and bake for approx 20 minutes, rotating the tray half-way through;  do keep an eye on them as every oven is different and yours may need a little less, or a little more time

13. Allow to cool on a rack