I love baking sweet potato fries at home. First off, it's easy; I love anything that goes in the oven and doesn't have to be stood over. Secondly, they're a healthier alternative to regular fries or fried potatoes. Lastly, they're an excuse to use condiments. I'm totally a fry dipper and think it's super gross when people squeeze ketchup all over the top of their fries. I like my sweet potatoes savory with a kickin' dippin' sauce and these fit the bill.
Sweet potatoes are all the rage because of their health benefits like Vitamin A, B, and C, potassium, manganese, and beta carotene. So many people make their sweet potatoes "sweet" by adding brown sugar or that nasty marshmallow topping and calling it a side dish. No, that's a dessert. If I'm going to eat sweet potatoes I want to get all of the health benefits from it, not have it loaded down with added sugars. A lot of frozen store bought sweet potato fries have added preservatives like dextrose (sugar!) so by making these at home I can know exactly what I'm eating and avoid the extra junk.
I learned all about making mayonnaise from scratch when we did Whole30 and the recipe I'm sharing here is from the Whole30 book. Talk about a game changer! I've never been a huge mayo fan, but this stuff is delicious and is so simple to make. My husband loves to mix a ton of sriracha in with the mayo for the dipping sauce pictured. Sriracha is not compliant, so during Whole30 I mixed in Frank's hot sauce and a little more lemon juice with the mayo. The possibilities are practically endless when it comes to the flavors you can add into your mayo. Make the fries and experiment with the dipping sauce. Once you try these, you'll be making them every week like we do!
{Makes 2 servings}
INGREDIENTS
1 sweet potato (pick the biggest one possible)
cooking oil
kosher salt
black pepper
seasoning of choice
-garlic powder
-onion powder
-smoked paprika
-cayenne
-rosemary
-thyme
MAYO (makes 1 1/2 cups)
1 room temp egg
1 1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
juice from 1/2 lemon
MAYO Add Ins
-sriracha
-sambal olek
-franks hot sauce
-minced garlic
-avocado
-lemon or lime juice
-pesto
-cayenne
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Set oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cover the foil with a piece of parchments paper. Use more than one baking sheet if necessary. The fries will need to be spread out with plenty of room.
2) Make sure the sweet potato is clean and dry. Begin by completely peeling it the entire potato.
3) Using a very sharp knife, slice off one rounded side of the potato to make a flat surface. From here on keep the flat surface down so that the potato doesn't rock; this makes the process much safer.
4) If desired, cut off the 2 ends of the potato to make a more square shape. This step is optional.
5) Keeping the flat side down, cut the potato lengthwise into long slices about 1cm thick. Continue cutting this way until all the potato is used.
6) Take each slice and lay it flat side down. Again, cut into long pieces about 1cm thick. At this point it should look like a standard french fry.
7) Once all the fries are cut, place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with cooking oil (I prefer avocado oil) and toss until all the fries are generously coated. Each piece should be completely coated in oil with no dry areas, but not drenched to the point where they are a dripping mess.
8) Season fries with salt and pepper and whatever other herbs and spices you prefer. Add a little more salt than you think you need. Potatoes always need extra seasoning. Eyeball the measurements here. Add more of what you like or just leave them plain salt and pepper.
*** I've enjoyed using this mixed seasoning grinder from Sprout's.
9) Spread fries out on the baking sheet. Be sure to space them apart from one another. If they are too close the potato will steam instead of getting crispy.
10) Bake for 20 minutes then remove from oven and flip to the other side. Bake for 10-15 minutes more or even longer until the fries reach desired crispiness.
***The potatoes can also be placed under the broiler for a few extra minutes at the end, but watch carefully to be sure they don't burn!
11) To make the mayo, place 1/4 cup of the oil, egg, salt, mustard powder, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender. Pulse to mix and then slowly drizzle in the remaining cup of oil while the machine runs. Store mayo in fridge for about a week. I keep mine in a glass bowl with lid.
12) Once the base mayonnaise is made, add in any extras to change up the flavor!
No comments :
Post a Comment