A reset on Sweet Potato Fries—with a great outcome!

Thousands of ideas abound on the best recipe for Sweet Potato Fries. In this blog I’ve already tried out one of them. But the quest continued. From our most recent farm-stand visit I had brought home some absolutely lovely, enormous sweet potatoes. Although I they could have ended up in a huge variety of dishes, giving Sweet Potato Fries another stab kept calling to me.

What did the cooking queen, Paula Deen, have to say about the matter? I had never looked up her Baked Sweet Potato Fries recipe before, but you can bet she had some good advice. The photo at left was the result. Two secrets: her House Seasoning mixture, which can be used on many food items, and baking the fries on a parchment-lined cookie sheet to prevent burning. I also experimented with my crinkle-cutter to give a uniform look.

The cut strips of sweet potato are tossed in olive oil; then a tablespoon of the House Seasoning recipe, along with 1/2 teaspoon paprika, is sprinkled over them for tossing again. Into the oven they go for 20 minutes, to be turned after the first 10 minutes. The result was a set of perfectly browned and delightfully seasoned Sweet Potato Fries. I think they were my best yet. I tried a little bit later and left off the parchment paper on the cookie sheet. Bad idea—too-brown and occasionally burnt potatoes resulted. Don’t skip the parchment!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

olive oil, for tossing

5 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-long slices, then 1/4-inch-wide strips, 

using a crinkle-cutter

1 tablespoon House Seasoning (recipe follows)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

House seasoning:

1 cup salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a sheet tray with parchment. In a large bowl toss sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat. Mix House Seasoning ingredients and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Take 1 tablespoon of the House Seasoning and use it to sprinkle onto the potatoes. Add paprika. Toss. Spread sweet potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Be sure not to overcrowd potatoes. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes (I turned after 10 minutes). Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before you serve. Makes 3 to 5 servings of potatoes. (Source: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/baked-sweet-potato-fries-recipe)

Sweet potato fries are all the rage; here's a healthy take on them

I mentioned that the food demonstration we observed this week when we visited the Chickasaw Nation Nutrition Services had more goodies in store besides the marvelous Autumn Spice Cake that we sampled after the demo.

Also amazing were the Southwest Sweet Potato Fries and the dipping sauces that accompanied them. Food Demo Specialist Kathy Bean sliced some sweet potatoes into strips (similar to the size of restaurant fries) and then placed them in a zip-top bag that contained spices. The spices consisted merely of cumin and a Southwest chipotle seasoning (the one she used was produced by the Mrs. Dash brand of salt-free seasoning).

Several shakes of the bag to evenly distribute the seasoning over all of the potato wedges—then the potatoes were arranged onto a cooking-spray sprayed pan. After I returned home from seeing these prepared and from sampling them, I had to try cooking these myself. After I baked the potatoes for about 20 minutes in a 425-degree oven, as the recipe instructed I turned them once and cooked the other side of the fries during the remaining cooking time (15 to 20 minutes).

The Southwest kick these oven-baked fries had to them by having been dredged into these two simple seasonings was incredible. These were terrific by themselves but were even better with the homemade dipping sauces that Kathy had arrayed on the counter. The one I chose to try with the Sweet Potato Fries was Honey Mustard Sauce, featured below. I tried the fries warm straight from the oven and cold straight from the fridge after I had stored them a while. I found them to be good warm or cold, if you can believe it.

Kathy had extolled all the health benefits of sweet potatoes, not the least of which was the fiber aspect (one serving of the sweet potato fries, with a serving estimated to be about 10 fries) was 5 grams of fiber. Oven-baking them instead of frying in oil on the stove gave them a zero-gram fat and cholesterol content with only 85 grams of sodium. She spoke of how sweet potato fries are becoming a popular restaurant menu item.

Now, with this recipe for Southwest Sweet Potato Fries, appreciators can make their own, the healthy way.

Southwest Sweet Potato Fries

2 pounds sweet potatoes

2 teaspoons no-salt Southwest chipotle seasoning (prepared with Mrs. Dash brand)

1 teaspoon cumin

cooking spray

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut each potato into 4-inch chunks; then cut chunks crosswise into strips. In a large zip-top bag mix Southwest and cumin seasonings. Add potatoes and toss until coated. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange potatoes in a single layer. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Turn once until potatoes are lightly browned. Makes 6 servings.

Honey Mustard Sauce

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Chill. Makes 10 1-tablespoon servings.