Sunday, December 21, 2008

Sweet Potato Home Fries

While I like sweet potatoes, a whole potato sometimes seems like too much to eat in a single meal. It's funny how quickly that same potato disappears once it's been turned into home fries...

I served my sweet potato home fries with creole-spiced black eyed peas and garlicky kale. Because the peas and kale had very distinctive seasonings, I decided to keep the fries simple, tossing them in blend of canola oil, salt, and pepper. If you are looking for seasoned fries, consider this recipe -- involving coriander, fennel, oregano and red pepper -- at Kalyn's Kitchen.

I left the potato skins on; of course you could peel your potatoes first if you prefer.

Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes, washed
2 teaspoons canola oil, plus a little additional oil to brush the baking sheet with
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
Lightly brush a nonstick baking sheet with canola oil.
Trim the ends from the sweet potatoes.
Cut each potato in half length-wise.
Place one potato half cut-side down on cutting board, and carefully slice the potato into long thin strips.
Place the strips into a mixing bowl, and repeat with the three remaining halves.
Top potatoes with the canola oil, salt and black pepper.
Toss to coat, using your hands.
Place the potato strips in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Bake 20 minutes.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and carefully turn the potato strips over.
Bake another 10 minutes, or until potatoes are bubbly and the thinest strips are crisp (watch carefully at this stage, as the potatoes can very quickly go from bubbly/crisp to burnt!)
Remove from oven and serve immediately.

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