Sweet Potato Fries

I've talked about it before, but I really love sweet potatoes.  They're so rich in nutrients, and now that I've got over the sugar shock of their Thanksgiving preparation sweet potatoes make frequent appearances on my table.  I love baking these fries with a lot of seasoning combinations, but this blend of cumin, paprika, and cinnamon is one of my favorites.

You have to take a couple of steps to make these fries crispy.  The first is cutting them fairly thinly.  More surface area means more crispiness.  I like to look for longer, less squat sweet potatoes when I make fries.  Make sure you're using a sharp knife for this - cutting into a raw sweet potato can be difficult and a blunt knife can make it dangerous.  I like to skin the sweet potatoes before cutting them, but that's a personal preference.  Scrub them very well if you decide not to skin them.

Once you've sliced the potatoes submerge them in a bowl of cold water for at least an hour. This helps to remove some of the starch, which is another way to make them crispy.  When you remove them from the water rise them off to remove the any additional starch and pat them completely dry.  Lay them on a foil lined sheet pan, and make sure the potatoes have enough room to be spread in a single layer.  Use two pans if necessary.

Bake the fries at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes on the lowest rack of the oven.  Flip them halfway through the cooking time to ensure maximum crisp.

If you have any leftovers let them cool completely before you store them so they don't get soggy, and reheat them in the oven.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Slice sweet potatoes in half and slice lengthwise into fries
3. Soak potatoes in water for at least 1 hour
4. Drain and rinse potatoes and dry them completely
5. Place potatoes on a foil lined sheet pan and coat with oil, spices, and salt and pepper
6. Bake potatoes for 20-30 minutes, and flip halfway through cooking time