Guaranteed Crispy Sweet Potato Fries & Sriracha Mayo Dip

           

While currently searching for my next advertising job, I've wanted to stay as much in the biz as possible. As a result, I've been doing a bit of qualitative market research on the blog. You might call it asking people what they think/feedback/suggestions etc. (All of which has been extremely positive – so thanks for that.)

One key takeaway I found was the desire for some non-meat dishes to satisfy the vegetarians out there (some of which are residing in "The Green Mountain State" of Vermont). So, for all who have been on the edge of your seats, holding your breath, crossing your fingers, and every other relevant colloquialism out there, this (surprisingly healthy) one is for you. And don’t worry, there will be more vegetarian dishes to come.

Sweet potatoes fries are notorious for not getting crispy, unless of course deep fried, and even then not nearly as crispy as regular fries. I spent a lot of time searching around online and tried several recipes, all of which claimed their fries would come out crispy. All lies I tell you. That is until I gave this recipe a chance. And yes they are baked, not fried.

So you want to know how good they taste, huh? Let’s put it this way…I made some for the GF the other night and I asked her how they tasted. Seems she couldn't quite articulate it either. All I got was a pair of wide-eyes to go with a huge smile and an enthusiastic “Mmm” as she kept eating them. I think I’ll take that as success.

INGREDIENTS FOR SWEET POTATO FRIES:
Sweet Potatoes
Corn Starch
Olive Oil

INGREDIENTS FOR SRIRACHA MAYO DIP:
½ cup Mayonnaise
¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Sriracha Sauce

DIRECTIONS FOR SWEET POTATO FRIES:
Gather your sweet potatoes. Get some corn starch. Also get some olive oil. Cut your sweet potatoes until they are medium thickness. Not hugely thick cut and not shoestring. Let the potatoes soak in water for an hour to half the day. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Throw a tablespoon or two of cornstarch into a plastic bag. Dump a handful of the sweet potatoes into the bag with the cornstarch. Twist the top of the bag so it forms a balloon with some air inside and shake the fries around until they’re lightly coated with the cornstarch. Put your coated fries on a non-stick cookie sheet. Drizzle 2 tbsps. of olive oil over the fries. This is if you want to be healthy. (Source Editors note: Any vegetable oil will work. I've used sunflower, canola, etc. You can use as much oil as you want. The more oil you use the easier time you‘ll have of getting the fries crispy but the less healthy they will be. I usually go the totally unhealthy route to ensure the fries are crispy. Just keep glugging the oil until the fries are well coated). Using your hands, make sure the fries are well coated. Arrange them on the sheet again, so they have space between each fry. The less fries on the pan the better they’ll cook. Too many shoved together and they’ll never get crispy. They’ll just steam. Pop the fries in your preheated oven and cook for 15 minutes. Check the fries after 15 minutes, flip them over (you might have to use a spatula depending on how “non-stick” your pan is) and return to the oven if necessary for another 5 minutes*.

*It took about 15 min longer in the oven at a higher temperature (450 degrees) than the recipe calls for to get the fries crispy. However, I have a terrible, very old, non-digital oven in my apt so the odds are it was the culprit.

DIRECTIONS FOR SRIRACHA MAYO DIP:
Mix together ½ cup of mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon of Sriracha sauce and ¼ teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper. You can adjust the proportions to taste. Mix it up and taste it, then adjust as you like.

Source: http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/guaranteed-crispy-sweet-potato-fries-sriracha-mayo-dip/

About Me: http://zacksmithishungry.blogspot.com/2012/09/about-me.html