Sweet potato fries
Oven-baked sweet potato fries dusted with cornflour and smoked paprika, roasted hot on spacious trays until crisp outside and soft within.
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 220°C and line two large baking trays with baking paper.
- 2
Cut the sweet potatoes, skin on, into sticks about 1 cm thick and 8 cm long, keeping them as even as you can.
- 3
Pat the sticks dry with a clean tea towel and put them in a large bowl.
- 4
Sprinkle over the cornflour and toss until every stick has a thin, dry coating.
- 5
Add the oil and paprika and toss again until evenly coated.
- 6
Spread the fries over both trays in a single layer, leaving space around each one.
- 7
Bake until the undersides are browned.
- 8
Turn the fries with a spatula and swap the trays between shelves.
- 9
Bake until crisp at the edges and tender in the middle, watching the thinner ends as they catch quickly.
- 10
Sprinkle with the salt and some pepper while hot, and serve straight away.
Notes
- Sweet potatoes hold more water and sugar than ordinary potatoes, so they never get quite as crisp. Cornflour, a hot oven and space on the tray help most.
- Salt the fries after baking. Salting before draws out moisture and softens them.
- Serve with garlic mayonnaise, or a dip of yogurt mixed with lime juice and chopped coriander.
Equipment
2 large baking trays, Baking paper, Large mixing bowl, Spatula