Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I have to confess, I was one to always pass on the candied yams at thanksgiving dinner, I just never seemed to quite acquire a taste for them, no matter how many times I tried them. But then one day the cafeteria at work was serving sweet potato fries, and I tasted one off a co-worker's plate and was suprised that the orange fries were pretty good, tasting quite a bit different than thanksgiving yams. So I set off on trying to make something similar at home (only a little healthier and a little less deep-fried). After much experimentation I came up with a recipe that was sufficiently satisfying.

Sweet potatoes are in season October to March generally, so add them to your winter cooking menus. They can be used as a side-dish with meals, or by themselves as a snack. Orange sweet potatoes are full of Vitamin A (beta-carotine) so its good to get a little bit of them in your diet!

Ingredients:

1 large Yam/Sweet Potato* per 2 people
Salt
Cooking Oil

Yams or Sweet Potatoes? Getting the right variety matters for this recipe. The fact of the matter is, american "yams" are really sweet potatoes from a botanical standpoint, depending on where you live or where you shop, they could be labeled as either yams or sweet potatoes. The kind you want are the ones that are orange (not white) inside. (The outside of such potatoes is usually a reddish-dusty brown). At the market look for spots where the skin has been slightly peeled away.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 325.

Peel the sweet potatoes.

Slice them into fry-sided slices. Its important that the thickness of the fry is not more than a quarter inch for them to cook properly. A good size is 1/4" x 1/2" x 3". its okay if the slices are somewhat wedge shaped and not rectangular.

The fries will stick to your baking sheet, so be sure to either coat the baking sheet with tinfoil or spray with non-stick spray depending on the type of cookie sheets you use.

Coat the fries with a light but thorough coating of oil and salt liberally.

Spread fries evenly on a single layer on the baking sheet. Use multiple trays if necessary.

Cook for about 15 minutes until golden browned, frip the fries with a spatula, and cook for an additional 15 minutes until the second side is also golden browned.

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