WITH National Barbecue Week following on from National Vegetarian Week, why not merge the two this bank holiday and swap your usual meaty treat for a veggie option?

The long weekend launches the half term holiday making it the perfect time to get kids involved with cooking.

So why not introduce the them to a Sweet Potato Burger with Griddled Pineapple and Chilli Salsa, a great way to be healthy and highlight vegetarianism at the same time.

Serves four
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
600g sweet potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ras el hanout (Moroccan spice mix)
5 pineapple rings
1 tsp rose harissa (or harissa)
100g breadcrumbs
50g almonds, coarsely chopped
100g pumpkin seeds, crushed
Gram flour (chick pea flour) to coat the burgers
For the relish:
3 bird’s eye chillies, finely chopped (will be hot, you may wish to use milder chillis)
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Half lemon, juiced
1 tbsp tomato puree
4 wholemeal rolls
Preheat the oven to 220C. Cut the sweet potatoes in half and bake in their skins on a lightly oiled baking tray for 30 minutes.

When they are soft scoop out the flesh and set aside.

Meanwhile gently fry the onions in one tablespoon of olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and ras el hanout. Continue to fry for another 30 seconds, stirring continuously.

Chop one of the pineapple rings into small cubes and put in a big bowl, with the cooked sweet potato flesh, fried onions, rose harissa, breadcrumbs, almonds and pumpkin seeds. Season to taste.

Form the mixture into burgers.

You can make four thick or eight thin burgers as preferred. Coat them in the gram flour and shallow fry until golden on each side.

While the burgers are frying, make the relish by mixing all the ingredients together.

Griddle the remaining pineapple rings on each side.

Assemble by placing one burger in each roll, followed by the griddled pineapple then the relish.

Add the second burger on top if using and serve with a simple Moroccan salad (recipe below).