Sweet Potato Fries

Things of note:

• You can, in fact, vacuum the coffee table [dog hair is the worst]
• Dipping steamed broccoli in a poached egg that’s oozing all it’s delicious yolk is quite heavenly
• I love the scent of pine

I finally made sweet potato fries [any fries really] that didn’t suck! Usually they turn into mush, and I’m kind of okay with that, but it’s not exactly something you want to serve to people. I hadn’t tried in forever because I just bake the potato and call it a day, attacking it gracefully with a knife and fork. Actually cutting them, soaking them, drying them, seasoning them, and spreading them out on a baking pan into multiple batches is hard longer than I want to spend most of the time.

It’s worth the effort sometimes. This happened to be one of those times. Amy convinced me. I even went to the trouble to mix three ingredients together [four if you count water] to make the tahini honey dipping sauce. Hot damn. That was getting spooned into my mouth. You best believe it.

I coated the fries in cornstarch, which was…weird. I have no idea if I added the right amount [it looks like a lot doesn’t it?], but it added to puff them up a little bit. They were more airy. You don’t taste it. So make some, prepare to have your fingers get all gooey because you’re going to dive head first into that sauce. The fries become the vehicle. A beautiful sweet potato vehicle.

Inspiration: The Moveable Feasts

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet potato, scrubbed and sliced into similarly sized 1/2″ sticks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• water

Preparation

Fill a bowl big enough for all of your fries with room temperature water. Add the fries, submerging them all for about a minute. Remove them and dry them really, really, really well. Use a towel, then let them air out while you preheat the oven to 400°. Mix your tahini sauce while you’re waiting.

Mix the tahini, honey, and lemon juice together. Add enough water to thin it out to a desired consistency. Mine was thick. I like it that way.

Toss the fries in the two tablespoons of olive oil. Add the corn starch and salt, mixing again so every piece is nice and evenly coated. Your hands are going to get messy for the best application.

Line two baking sheets with parchment, aluminum foil, or a Silpat. Arrange the fries on the sheet so they have plenty of room. The closer they are, you run the risk of them staying mushy as they bake from all of the moisture. Bake for 25-35 minutes until all of the fries are baked through, and some should start to take on dark crispy edges.