sweet-potato fries - variations on a theme

Since moving to Japan in 2001, we've been back and forth to our home countries of the U.S. and U.K. almost every year. On one of our trips, somewhere along the way, I picked up an Everyday Food magazine at an airport, just for some light reading. One of our favorite recipes I gleaned from it was roasted sweet-potato fries, which I'm making more now that the seasons are starting to change.

This will be my eighth autumn in Japan, a country that prides itself on the wonder of each of its four seasons. Japanese sweet potatoes are becoming more available now that it's fall and are a bit cheaper than they were previously this year.

Roasted Sweet-Potato Fries (from Everyday Food magazine, December 2004 issue - yes, a real magazine with real paper - sorry, no web link)

Serves 4

1. Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). Scrub 1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes under cold water and pat dry. Halve lengthwise and then quarter each half lengthwise.
2. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss sweet potatoes with 1 t. ground cumin, 1 t. coarse salt, 1/4 t. ground pepper, and 1 T. olive oil until well coated. Arrange, cut sides down, in a single layer.
3. Roast, turning potatoes halfway through, until tender and brown, about 30 min.

Well, I usually cut them lengthwise and roast in the oven, as the recipe suggests, but this time I was lazy, cut them into cubes, nuked them till tender, and then just tossed them into a frying pan with the oil and spices until brown. They're yummy either way! I just hate heating up my thimble-sized kitchen with my thumbnail-sized oven if I don't have to, BUT for La Fuji Mama's chili-powder infused variation served with her easy peasy curry dip, I just had to do it the proper way. I did leave the skin on mine, just 'cause I like it when it gets all crispy, and I added 1/4 t. onion powder to the spice mix.

And they were so worth the kitchen heat. Maffa the Toddler Bean even scarfed some down, with the dip, I might add!

Leave a comment and share your favorite way to use sweet taters - inquiring minds want to know.