Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries


I finally figured out how to make legitimately CRISPY sweet potato fries - blanching!  I was amazing at how much this simple little trick helped my fry baking potential!  I was planning on making sweet potato fries later in the week, but I had half a sweet potato leftover from making Gypsy Soup... who knew one HUGE sweet potato could exceed my 2 cup expectations and leave me with a significant amount leftover sweet potato!  I also made a little bit of dipping sauce for my fries - ketchup just won't do the trick when it comes to these babies!

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. light brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil greased with cooking spray.
  2. Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into long spears.
  3. Blanch* for about 3 minutes (or soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes)
  4. Place the potato spears on the sheet pan and toss with olive oil.  Spread them in a single layer.  Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes.  
  5. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula or tongs.  Bake for another 5 to 15 minutes (it really depends on how thick or thin you sliced the sweet potato), until lightly browned & crispy.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.


Dipping Sauce:
It's simple really: mix a few tablespoons of mayonnaise with about a tablespoon of Sriracha sauce, a drop or two of hot sauce, a few grinds of black pepper, and a dash or two of garlic powder.  Taste with the tip of your pinky and adjust seasonings to preference.

*Putting the sliced sweet potatoes in boiling salted water, and after X amount of time, removing & plunged (or rinsed under) very cold water to halt the cooking process

2 comments:

Luigi said...

Wow like the look of these, have never thought of using sweet potatoes in this way.

Anonymous said...

Try using parchment paper instead of the foil. Never stick and helps get them crisp.

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