Sweet potato SOS

As I was hanging out on facebook one afternoon, I received an urgent SOS message from a friend in Europe. I loved that she knew she could ask me her emergency foodie question! We’ll call my friend Helena, and here’s how the conversation went:

Helena: Marian!

Marian: Hi!

Helena: I bought a sweet potato and don’t know what to do with it!

Marian: Haha! You can do many things with it.

Helena: How do I make sweet potato chips?

Marian: Cut them up into thin slices. Get your oven pretty hot.

Helena: No, I wanna make chips. In the oven. I mean the ones you make sometimes.

Marian: Oohhhh….. British chips! [French fries]. I’ve been in the States too long. 😉

Yes, yes! I make my sweet potato chips/french fries in the oven. 🙂 Heat your oven to about 200 degrees Celsius (400° F). Wash the potato well. You can peel it if you want or leave the skins on. I’m lazy and usually leave the skins on unless there are lots of spots that need to be cut out.

Helena: 🙂

Marian: Cut the potato into “chips”. Toss the chips with some olive oil (about one spoonful).

Marian: Completely. I have no doubt you can make awesome sweet potato chips. I like them with ketchup, but that’s probably because I’m American.

Helena: Okay.

Marian: Spread them out onto a baking sheet, like you would use for cookies. Sprinkle whatever seasonings you want on top. Here’s some combination suggestions:

1. Garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder

2. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, salt, a little sugar

3. Cinnamon, curry powder, cumin

4. Salt and pepper

When the oven is hot, put them in and set a timer for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, pull them out and check to see how down they are, and turn them so another side will get crispy.

Put them back in and bake for another 10-15 minutes, depending on how they look.

Helena: Okay that sounds doable.

Helena: Oh nonono. No chips without ketchup. I like salt and vinegar. But I always miss the ketchup when I’m in Northern Ireland.

Sweet potato “chips” aka french fries are one of my favorite foods ever. I actually made them recently out of a giant sweet potato from a CSA share. One sweet potato made enough fries for three of us!

Sweet Potato Chips/Fries

Ingredients

Sweet potatoes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Other spices as desired

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (or 200°C).

2. Wash the sweet potatoes and peel if necessary. Cut the potatoes into even pieces of your desired size, roughly 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Keep in mind, that if you make them bigger they will need to bake longer, and if you make them smaller, you will need to bake them less.

3. Toss the fries in a bowl with a spoonful of oil. Spread them out onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and/or your choice of spices. (see above for some ideas).

4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes (less if you make them smaller). Turn the fries and check to see how done they are. Bake for another 10-20 minutes until done.

5. I like to serve them with a homemade curry ketchup–mix ketchup with curry powder, cumin, some pepper, and even a little bit of mustard.

Posted by marianhd

Comments

Tammy says:

November 18, 2012 at 11:18 pm

and they go with everything! Great job.

1. marianhd says:
  
  November 20, 2012 at 1:30 pm
  
  They do! I could literally eat them at every meal of the day. Which reminds me of a sweet potato hash recipe I love… Thanks for the comment and the mutual sweet potato appreciation!