Sweet Potato Fries

Back when David and I were first married, I was crushed to discover that he didn't like potatoes unless they were fried or served with a ton of cheese. Ditto with sweet potatoes, except he wouldn't touch those at all. I was pretty dismayed, and for years, didn't try to come up any recipes with sweet potatoes.

Until...I finally figured out how to make sweet potato fries. Roasting them in the oven makes them tender and sweet. All the kids and David love these. Plus, they have fiber, vitamin A, you name it...they're good for you! And...since we're all gonna pig out next week, I plan to post another vegetable recipe today. It's all pshycological right? As long as we eat something green, all the other calories don't matter :-).

This is a quick and easy side dish...if your kids like french fries, they will inhale these too!

Sweet Potato Fries

2 pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean and dried

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil for drizzling and greasing the pan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the baking sheet you plan on using into the oven...preferably one of the non-stick type. You'll see why in a minute...trust me :-).

You're going to need a good sturdy cutting board and a big sharp knife. (If this makes you nervous, hand the knife to your hubby and let him cut the sweet potatoes). Cut off about 1 inch off each end, and then cut the tater in half. Cut each half into half again. (I try to find ones that are kinda long, and not too thick). Here's a picture of the first 2 cuts.

Now, take one quarter and stand it up on the cutting board. Slice downwards--and make the slices about 1/4 inch thick, then lay all the slices down flat, one on top of another, like this:

I really hope I haven't lost you...we only have one more step. Cut the slices into sticks about 1/4 inch across...here's what they should look like:

Repeat with the rest of the sweet potatoes. I ended up using 1 1/2; I saved the rest for the next night. So it came out to just under 2 pounds.

Drizzle all the fries with olive oil, and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. You don't have to drown the fries in oil, but you do want to coat them well...sweet potatoes contain a lot of natural sugar, and will stick to your baking sheet if you don't lube them enough.

Give everyone a good toss...

Now, remove your baking sheet from the oven, it should be nice and hot. Drizzle it with some olive oil, a light coating is all you need. Toss the sweet potato fries onto the pan...you might hear a faint sizzle. If so...you did good! If not, don't worry, they'll turn out fine.

We preheated the pan so your potatoes will start to caramelize right off the bat, and make them a bit crispy.

Roast the fries for about 15 minutes, and then give 'em a flip. They'll be fairly soft at this point, so I recommend using a wide spatula (tongs will squash them). Then pop 'em back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, and you see some dark, golden brown spots on some of the fries.

These are really great with ketchup, or all by themselves. I want to try making these in my deep fryer, but haven't ventured in that direction yet. If I do, I'll let you know. In the meantime, you can feel less guilty eating these, since they are oven baked. These aren't really crispy like french fries made with regular potatoes...again, all the natural sugar makes them a bit on the soft side.

God bless your table tonight!