In my quest to be healthy I’ve been eating a lot of sweet potatoes, so many in fact that I might just turn into one.  Wait, they are round and I’m trying to not be round anymore.  I digress.

One of my go to meals lately has been a sweet potato and a salad.  I know the purists are going to be mad at me when I say that a professionally trained chef puts his sweet potato in the microwave and cooks it that way.  But when you’ve worked all day and don’t feel like waiting for an hour or so while your potato cooks in the oven that’s the easiest way to do it.  Poke a few holes in your sweet potato, put it in the microwave and five or six minutes later your done.  Lather it with a buttery substance, season with salt and pepper and you have an instant meal.

Well, the other night I wanted a sweet potato but I was tired of the baked or nuked kind so I said to myself, ‘self, why don’t you make sweet potato fries.’  I don’t have a fryer and didn’t want all that grease so I decided to bake them.  It truly is the simplest thing to do.

First you wash your potato.  Then you cut it length wise

Then you cut the pieces you have length wise again.  Voila!  You have sweet potato fries.

Then put your fries into a bowl added olive oil and seasoned them.  I used salt, pepper and garlic powder but let your imagination run free.  That’s what makes cooking fun right?  You could put a hot spice on there like chili powder or you could even go sweeter and add some cinnamon.  Let your taste that evening guide you.

I added the fries to a pan that I had coated with a little spray just to make sure nothing stuck.  Then I baked them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  I find the higher heat you don’t get soggy fries!

The fries came out beautifully.  And they were a compliment to my dinner of pork chops from Raven and Boar in East Chatham, NY and some sweet corn from Taft Farms in Great Barrington, Ma.  I also have a leg of lamb from Raven and Boar that I’m cooking tomorrow evening. I’ll let you know how to comes out!

Sweet Potato Fries, Baked!

1 Sweet Potato

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Garlic Powder, to taste

Olive Oil

Method

1. Cut sweet potato into fries.

2.  Put cut potato into a bowl, add olive oil, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

3.  Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes until fries are crispy.