A New Year brings new resolutions and renewed good intentions. Gyms are full to capacity, people are stocking up on salads and vegetables, and there is a general push for better health and wellbeing. I personally haven’t made any resolutions, but I have just signed up to get a weekly organic vegetable box. I am hoping it will challenge me to make new and different recipes, with fruit and veg that wouldn’t normally be on my list. All the produce is locally sourced, so I am excited to see what seasonal delights the Washington countryside can offer. Meanwhile, I got these lovely organic sweet potatoes as a gift and made some delicious baked sweet potato fries. They are that little bit of indulgence, without too much guilt. Spices like cumin and smoked paprika really bring out the sweet, nutty flavour of sweet potato. When you bake the sweet potatoes at a high temperature, the edges become really crisp and delicious. The spicy sour cream is the perfect accompaniment. It’s a good snack to try if you fancy something nice, but don’t want to break all your healthy new year’s resolutions … it’s still only January after all 🙂
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- Some freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder
- 400g g / 3 to 4 long thin sweet potatoes
Sauce
- 6 tablespoons of sour cream
- 1 teaspoon of chipotle chilli sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sprinkle of smoked paprika
Method
Begin by preheating the oven to 400 F/ 200 C. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the olive oil, garlic, spices, salt, and pepper into a large bowl and stir together. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1/3 inch thick batons. Once you have sliced up all the sweet potatoes into batons, place them in the large bowl with spiced olive oil. Stir the batons around, so they are all evenly coated with the olive oil. Pour the batons onto the prepared baking tray and place in the oven. * Reserve the bowl with olive oil, as this spiced oil will be the basis for the spicy sour cream.
Leave the sweet potato fries in the oven for about 10 minutes, and then toss them around, so that they are evenly cooked on both sides. They should only take about 20 minutes to cook. Meanwhile to make the spicy sour cream, use the bowl with the residue of spiced olive oil. Add the sour cream to the bowl a long with the chipotle sauce. The spices will mingle together with the sour cream. Taste and then season with salt and pepper. Serve in a small dish with some paprika sprinkled on top.
Once the sweet potatoes are fully cooked, remove them from the oven. Serve straight from the oven with some spicy sour cream on the side.
