THE PERFECT SWEET POTATO FRIES
Sweet potatoes are great and so are fries. So that must mean that sweet potato fries are the best. If I go out to dinner and sweet potato fries are on the restaurant menu, it’s a no brainer; they’re mine. It really doesn’t matter what else I’m eating, and if they don’t already come with my meal, they’re getting ordered as a side.
Sadly, I don’t get to eat in restaurants anywhere near as often as I would like and I also don’t particularly want to be consuming vast amounts of fries cooked in a deep fat fryer. I do, however, want sweet potato fries at home and I want them to be sweet, spicy and crispy. Crispy is the key here and if you’ve tried to bake sweet potato fries at home before then there’s a good chance that you’ve been disappointed with soggy, limp wedges. Don’t stress, here’s what you need and how to do them right:
2 Large sweet potatoes.
Some corn flour.
Piri Piri (chicken salt is optional)
Cooking oil of your choice (canola works well)
Salt and Pepper.
DIRECTIONS
1. Slice 2 large sweet potatoes into thin fries. Aim for about ¼ inch by ¼ inch in thickness. Make them as long as you like.
2. Soak your fries in water - Trust me, this is the key to crispy fries. Get a large bowl of water and bang your sliced up fries in there for at least 40mins before cooking. The process draws out the excess starch from inside the sweet potatoes, which helps them to cook crispy on the outside but tender in the middle. About an hour later, rinse them through a colander with cold water before drying them with kitchen towel.
3. Get the oven preheating (220 Celsius or Gas Mark 7) .
4. Drop half of the dried off fries into a large bag and sprinkle in a tablespoon of corn flour. Give them a good shake so that they are evenly covered. Do the same with the rest of the fries.
5. Throw your fries into a mixing bowl with a tablespoon of oil (your choice, but not vegetable oil), and your preferred spice - I used piri piri. Mix them well.
6. Line the fries up on a baking tray and space them out.
Try to space them out evenly - unlike me.
7. Cook them on Gas Mark 7 for 15 minutes before flipping.
8. Cook for another 15 minutes. Check them after this, they may need a little longer depending on your oven.
9. Turn the oven off, open the door slightly and leave them for a further 5 minutes.
10. Season to taste with salt (easy on this!) and pepper.
ENJOY!