Sunday, March 16, 2008

Sweet Potato Fries

These fries are baked and have so much flavor that ketchup is definitely optional. 

You'll need a big pan or cookie sheet. I'd line it with parchment paper to make the clean-up a snap. Plus it will allow you to pick up the fries and move them without messiness. If you've never used parchment paper - get some! 

Modify  the number of potatoes used, depending on the size of your pan/cookie sheet and the number of peeps you're going to feed. For up to three people I'd use two medium sweet potatoes. 

Pre-heat oven for 400 to 410 degrees. 

- Peel the potatoes

- Slice potatoes into stick "like" shapes. I always have an odd assortment of shapes, such as short, rounded edges, skinny, etc. The various shapes will cook up differently - some will be crispy, others will be soft in the inside (a potpourri of flavor sensations). 

- Place the potato pieces on cookie sheet (or pan) so that they're not overlapping.

- Lightly pour extra virgin olive oil over the fries (don't make them greasy, just enough to make them wet)

- Season the fries (be sure to oil the fries before seasoning). I dust the fries with sea salt (or seasoning salt), dill weed, coarse ground pepper and paprika. For extra zip I also use red pepper flakes and/or a blend of cajun spices. The spicy mixed with the sweet tastes really good!! 

- Bake for 20 to 35 minutes. If you like your fries extremely crispy then cook around 30 to 35 minutes. I like mine soft and plump, so I usually pull them out around 20 to 25 minutes. If you're unsure of how long you should cook them, pull them out of the oven periodically and sample a fry. You can always flip the fries mid-way, but I never do. 

- After removing from the oven, pull up the parchment paper and give the fries a good shake. All the seasoning and oil will mix together to get the fries nice and coated with yummy goodness. Serve right away. 

5 comments:

KT said...

Hi, like your blog...those fries sound so good, I'm gonna try them for sure.

Heather Z said...

Thanks! Yeah - this method of cooking sweet potatoes really brings out their flavor. The only problem is that they're so good you won't want to stop eating them!

Heather Z said...

I just made these for a party I went to and they were a crowd pleaser. I bought giant sweet potaoes and made the fries larger in size. They took a little longer to cook (I think maybe 40 minutes, but I was using someone elses oven, so I wasn't use to it)

Anonymous said...

Love red potatoes; this sounds really good, thanks!

Heather Z said...

One of my fave things to do with red skinned potatoes is to boil them in water (cut them up to be around an inch 1/2 chunks), drain the water, put them back in the pot with vegan margarine, coarse ground paper, sea salt, dill, parsley, cayenne pepper. Close the lid and give them a shake, moving the closed pot in all directions. The potatoes become coated in yummy goodness. You can use all kinds of spices, like paprika, cajun blend, yellow curry, etc.