Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries

You all know that sweet potatoes are supposed to be good for us, right?  People freak about carbs and all that stuff, but apparently the sweet spuds are in the yellow to green zone in terms of safe carbs.  They're chock full of vitamins and other good stuff, and they don't taste too dang shabby either.

When I find a new vegetable that is tasty, my first inclination is automatically to make it spicy, and find a way to use my cast iron skillet.  Because, why not?  I love spicy, and when you cook with cast iron, you don't have to wash the pan afterwards.

Let's repeat that important point.  You don't have to wash the pan.

I've made this a few times now, and have learned the key to making these really good is to have an extremely hot skillet.  It's going to give you the char/sear you're looking for, and it will keep the fries from getting mushy.  Please don't expect normally "crispy" french fries with these; they're more a cross between home fries and oven baked fries.  Probably because that is exactly what they are...

Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in to match sticks
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp chipotle powder
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp olive oil
Sliver of butter

1) Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and place a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet in while the oven is preheating.

2) Peel your sweet potatoes, and cut them down the middle.

Take each half, and make thin slices.
Just doing this to show you the safest way to cut the slices.  Do NOT cut vegetables with just one hand...especially your non-dominant hand.  It was the only way to take a photo!
From each slice, make match sticks.

3) Put the match sticks in to a mixing bowl, and drizzle the olive oil over the them.  Sprinkle with the spices.  Gently toss to coat.


4) Remove the preheated skillet from the oven, and add the butter to the hot skillet.  Swirl to coat the pan.

5) Add the potatoes, and push them around until they are in a single layer in the skillet.  Bake for 15 minutes to develop a delicious sear.
Shoulda used my bigger skillet
6) Stir after 15 minutes, and put them back in for another 10 minutes.  Test one for doneness.  You can always pop them back in more for time until they are cooked to your specifications.  I prefer mine extra done; almost to the burnt point.

My uncle Jim makes the best tartar sauce, and these are banging dipped in it.  But, I've learned fries dipped in tartar sauce is a Pacific Northwest thing.  When we lived in Los Angeles, I'll never forget the first time I asked for tartar for my fries at a restaurant.  You would have though I had grown three heads, and each of those heads had huge boobs on them.

Now that I think about it, that probably would have been more normal in Los Angeles than a pale girl requesting tartar for her fries.
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