A Side Note: Baked Sweet Potato Fries

(Photo: NatureMoms.com)

The only sweet potatoes I knew until high school were served with Thanksgiving dinner, smothered in marshmallows and brown sugar. Now I'll take a sweet potato over its whiter, starchier counterpart just about any day of the week.

Since we all have to begrudgingly admit that yes, it is still winter (stupid groundhog!), now is the time to pay homage to root vegetables. Sweet potatoes can be served mashed, blended into soups, breads, stews or in lieu of a traditional baked potato. They also make great oven fries for moments when you're craving something that tastes a little bit more indulgent.

A lot of us confuse sweet potatoes with yams, when in actuality there are some subtle differences between the two. Even though we use the terms interchangeably, in actuality the sweet potatoes and yams that we find here in the US are actually all sweet potatoes. Yams, of which there are about 200 varieties do not grow in the States but were first identified by African slaves as "nayami." Pretty cool, right?

Neither sweet potatoes nor yams are actually even included in the "potato" family: they are considered tubers and the sweet potato that we know is actually considered a cousin to the morning glory flower.

Of all of the ways I've eaten sweet potatoes, roasted and baked sweet potatoes are by far my favorite. The longer they cook, the more flavorful they become. They have a natural sweetness that even satisfies my own enormous sweet tooth.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries (makes one serving) Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato
2 teaspoons olive oil
Coarse sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F. Scrub sweet potato, slicing off the ends as well as any blemishes that you wouldn’t want to eat. Slice the sweet potato lengthwise into 1/2 inch pieces,.and then stacking two pieces together, cut potatoes into 1/2 inch strips.

2. Arrange strips onto a foil lined baking sheet (or if you're out of aluminum foil like I was, a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray). Brush strips with ollive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, tossing gently to coat.

3. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, tossing sweet potatoes every ten minutes or so (to ensure that they cook evently, especially if some of your pieces wind up to be different sizes).

What's your favorite way to eat sweet potatoes?

Comments

[Erin]

I love sweet potato fries as well! And sometimes I cut them like chips. I always sprinkle them with Jane's Krazy-Mixed-Up-Salt and Jane's Krazy-Mixed-Up-Pepper. It's a two seasoning blends my dad always bought. Mmmm... and I serve mine with organic ketchup!

[VeggieGirl]

SWEET POTATOES!!!!! My love.

[beyond]

a dish of sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping makes me shudder.
love love love sweet potato fries. in addition to olive oil, sea salt and pepper, i sometimes give them a sprinkling of chili flakes. oh yum.

[Heather]

i love sweet potato fries. have you ever tried them with truffle oil? so indulgent and good!!

[susan]

I love sweet potatoes too, but I never think to pick them up. When I learned that they are actually more healthy for you than regular potatoes it made me want to start using them more. Thanks for the recipe!

[Su-Lin]

I also love sweet potato fries but I usually cut them into cubes and sprinkle them with olive oil and smoked paprika before roasting them. Yummy!

[Leslie]

I too didnt like until adulthood, but now I adore them!
I love to bake them and put some splenda, a bit of butter and pure maple syrup on them...YUM

[Melissa]

I love sweet potatoes too. I have been known to mash them up and put them in a quesadilla or cube them, roast them and throw them in a pot of vegetarian chili.

and I have also been known to bring one to work, microwave it and eat it for lunch with a little butter.

your fries sound really good though. sounds like something to try.

[thatShortChick]

i have fallen in love with sweet potato fries! which is something i never ever thought i would like.

i just bought a bag of sweet potato fries from trader joe's and am almost finished. so yummy.

[Pearl]

i used to eat sweet potatoes, nuked in the microwave. the ends would get all hard and crunchy and a lot of the moisture would be gone - it would be like a delicious, chewy treat :)

[Jessica]

I don't actually care for sweet potatoes, but I love sweet potato fries and sweet potato chips. Both are lovely.

[Sara]

I LOVE sweet potato fries. I just made spicy indian sweet potatoes last night, will post the recipe soon :)

[E.P.]

Sweet potato fries are some of my favorite things ever. And it makes me REALLY happy that I can make them at home.

[Cate O'Malley]

Mmm, love sweet potatoes. A little bit of brown sugar and a hint of butter, and I'm done.

[Marthe]

This looks very tasty! I still have a sweet potato lingering around in the back of my fridge... hmmmm....

[Cora @ CoraCooks]

Beautiful sweet potato pics! I am a huge fan of them in any form. Must try fries next!

[magda]

sweet potatoes are on my all-time list of favorite foods. I've seriously been buying them by the bagful at trader joe's.

Sweet potato fries are a staple, but I've recently been making what I call my "Virginia breakfast," which is totally made up by me but whatever. I skillet-fry the sweet potato like home fries, with plenty of salt and pepper. I put them in a bowl and top them with a fried egg; sour cream; green onions. I know it sounds weird. It undoubtedly is. But it's so, so tasty!

[Eileen@passions to pastry]

Love sweet potato fries. And I feel like I'm being so healthy when I make them.

[Sophie]

I also adore sweet potato fries! I have spiced up my sweet potato fries with a lot of things!! Your version is so yummie yet easy!!!