"SweetPotatoFries" news and stories

Like almost everyone on the planet, I love the smell and taste of golden, perfectly cooked french fries. Granted, though having the deep-fried variety is a once-in-a-while treat, I often prefer the baked version, which I can flavor any way I want. The secret is in the seasoning and technique.

Here's a step-by-step guide to making your own oven fries.

Step 1: Choose the right potato and slice 'em up.

Russet or sweet potatoes are best for fries. Sweet potatoes have to be peeled before slicing, but you can keep the skins on white potatoes. Cut the potatoes as uniformly as possible to ensure even cooking.

Step 2: Toss with oil and seasonings to coat.

Place the fries in a large bowl and start by drizzling a tablespoon of olive oil and seasoning with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then feel free to spice it up -- use one or two cloves of garlic (minced), one teaspoon chopped parsley or rosemary, 1 teaspoon hot or mild paprika, 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin or curry. Once you've chosen your spice(s), place the spice(s) in a small bowl and mix with 1 teaspoon cornstarch.

Sweet potato fries. Photo: Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission

Sweet potatoes, long touted for their nutritional attributes, are soon to make a cameo in the fast food world.

To keep up with the mushrooming demand for sweet potato fries -- a snack which about a decade ago was primarily available from eateries that stocked their condiment caddies with liquid aminos and stuffed their Reubens with tempeh -- ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston has announced plans to build the world's first large-scale facility dedicated to sweet potato processing. According to a release, the Louisiana plant will allow Lamb Weston to meet the sweet potato fry needs of the nation's "largest quick-service restaurant chains."

"Sweet potatoes are a strategic priority for ConAgra foods," CEO Gary Rodkin says in the announcement.

René Simon, director of the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission, isn't bothered that the deep-fryer has helped turn the spotlight on his state's signature Beauregard sweet taters (which, weirdly, many Louisiana farmers call "yams," a misnomer that entered the Pelican State's vocabulary at the behest of a 1950s marketing exec).

"This is the South," he laughs, telling Slashfood: "Don't we fry everything?"

These delectable oven-roasted sweet-potato fries would be fine by themselves, but Pinch My Salt gussies them up with buttermilk blue cheese dipping sauce. Get the recipe here.