Rosemary sweet potato fries

Rosemary Sweet Potato Fries

SERVES 4

Moments after these fries come out of the oven, we’re plucking them off the pan by the handful. I honestly think they’ve never made it to a plate in our house, even when we double the recipe. Before you jump into this one, banish all notions of classic crispy deep-fried potatoes. Sweet potatoes have a higher water content, so they don’t crisp up the way regular potatoes do, but that’s exactly why I love them as baked fries. Some turn out super crispy all over, some are soft and a bit floppy, and others have the perfect crunchy, dark brown edges with tender centers. It’s the combination of all those irregular textures that makes these so good.

Sweet potatoes are higher in fiber and lower on the glycemic index than regular potatoes, and their bright orange flesh signals a ton of the antioxidant beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A in the body. The antioxidant activity in sweet potatoes is highest in the skin, so I don’t peel them.

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet potatoes
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves

• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

• Scrub the potatoes and pat them dry. Halve each sweet potato crosswise, then lengthwise into sticks about 1⁄4 inch wide (don’t be a slave to perfection here; roughly the same size is fine). On the baking sheet, toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil. Add the rosemary and several pinches of salt and pepper and toss again to coat the fries.
• Bake for 20 minutes, then gently flip the fries with a spatula. (They will be soft and soggy, so be careful not to mangle them as you flip them over.) Rotate the pan and bake for 15 minutes. Stir once then bake for another 10 minutes or until the fries are nicely browned on the edges and tender in the middle. Loosen them carefully from the pan so you don’t rip the foil or the fries.