Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Biz of Biggest Diabetic Loser has perfected the Best Oven Fries Ever (the picture is proof enough)!! I decided to throw caution to the wind and use the same technique, but for sweet potatoes instead.
My version was:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" to 1/2" slices
~5 Tbsp vegetable oil
salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
Preheat your oven to 475°. Then, peel and slice your sweet potatoes. Mine were very large so I cut the potatoes in half and then made strips. Be very careful cutting sweet potatoes! They're pretty resistant to a knife, so you have to use a little more muscle - you don't want that slipping and coming down on a finger!
Once the potatoes are sliced, soak them in water for about 10 minutes. I think this is key in successful oven fries because it'll help with getting them fully cooked in the beginning, leaving time for better browning in the end.
Prepare the baking pan by coating the bottom with about 4 Tbsp of the oil, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders. Pat the potatoes dry (I didn't, but I'm lazy!!) and toss with about 1 Tbsp of the oil. Lay the potato slices evenly on the baking pan.
Place the pan on the bottom rack of your oven, covered in foil, for 5 minutes. Again, this is key to the overall success. By being in the bottom of your oven, it is very close to the heating element, and by covering for the first five minutes you cook the potatoes through and can then start on the browning.
Remove the foil and then continue baking for 30 minutes. Every ten minutes remove the pan from the oven, flip the fries and then place it back in for another 10 minute round.
Mine were looking great until maybe the last 4 or 5 minutes, when I smelled that they were getting a little too dark. I think maybe because of their higher sugar content, they were more susceptible to burning. We happen to like the darker bits, but admittably some were a little charred.I think this method would work perfectly for regular potatoes, but if using it to cook sweet potatoes keep a close watch on it the last 5 minutes! It happens fast and you'll want to catch them before they get black!
Overall, VERY delicious and easy to pop back into the oven and warm up leftovers. I dunked mine in ketchup, just as you would a "normal" fry. I look forward to cooking them with different spice experimenting in the future!
