Reprinted from “Sweet Potatoes: Roasted, Loaded, Fried, and Made into Pie,” by Mary-Frances Heck (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2017)
Making fries The Easy Way distills the oven-fry method to its most essential steps: cutting the sweetpotatoes uniformly so they cook evenly, oiling and seasoning them aggressively, then roasting them in a hot oven until crisp.
Sweetpotato Fries The Easy Way
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 pounds orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes
2 tablespoons canola oil, olive oil, or melted unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher or fine sea salt
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Peel the sweetpotatoes, if desired, and cut them into slabs, batons, wedges, coins, half-moons, or cubes. They can be any size, really, as long as they are not less than 1/4 inch and not more than 1 inch thick. Place them in a large bowl and drizzle with the oil. Season with salt and your choice of spices, if using, and toss to coat. (Use about 1 1/2 teaspoons salt if you’re not using additional seasoning; adjust salt content depending on your preferred spice mix.) Dump the sweetpotatoes onto the prepared baking sheet, scraping out any seasoning or fat clinging to the bowl, and arrange them in a single layer.
Roast, turning once if their bottoms darken quickly, until tender and browned, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on size.
Tip: While this recipe only calls for salt, try adding a teaspoon or two of any of your favorite seasonings. Got some herbes de Provence? Toss ‘em in there. Spanish paprika? Definitely. Za’atar, curry powder, Mrs. Dash, Old Bay, or Tony Chachere’s? Yes, please.
Copyright © 2017 by Mary-Frances Heck. Photograph by Kristin Teig. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
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