Sweet Potato Fries

I love sweet potatoes, they're like nature candy. I remember in high school bringing baked sweet potatoes to school for lunch (split with a little butter and a pinch of salt). I'm sure I got funny looks from other kids...but that was a normal occurrence anyway. Roasting sweet potatoes is simple and very delicious. We often call these "fries" even though they are baked not fried. All you do is slice sweet potatoes (skin on) into wedges or any other shape you like. Toss them with a little oil, salt and pepper, spread them onto a lined baking sheet or roasting pan and roast at 450 degrees until lightly brown. About 45 minutes for large wedges, shorter if you cut them smaller.  Sweet potato fries are a great addition to any meal, but good luck getting them to the table, this pan was eaten before we even started dinner.

This recipe is also in the New Haven Cooks Cookbook, available at CitySeed (my employer). The recipe was submitted by the Fair Haven Community Health Center, where they teach this recipe as part of the nutrition counseling and cooking classes in their WIC office.

Sweet Potato Fries

Four servings

2 pounds sweet potatoes            

3 tablespoons oil, safflower, canola or olive            

Salt            

Pepper           

1. Scrub sweet potatoes and dry.  Cut into long wedges, place in a large bowl and toss with oil, salt and pepper.
2. Lay potatoes in a single layer on a foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
3. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.  Check half way through and rotate if necessary.

Note: Try roasting other vegetables this way as well: carrots, parsnips, pumpkin, onion and even apple or pear, can be tossed with oil, salt and pepper and placed in a glass baking dish or lined baking sheet to roast. You can add herbs and spices as well. 

Have you been roasting anything interesting this winter? Please share....