Sage Sweet Potato Fries With Dipping Sauces

Sharon123's Note:

Complement any meal with chef Spike Mendelsohn's(one of Top Chef's participants and owner of Good Stuff Eatery in Washington, D.C.) sweet potato fries, a side dish he created in celebration of the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama. I got this from Oprah Winfrey's website.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Sweet Potato Fries

• 4 sweet potatoes, skin on (or off, your choice)
• 1 bunch chopped fresh sage (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Sriracha Mayonnaise Dipping Sauce

• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1/4-1/2 cup sriracha sauce (at local grocery stores, a hot sauce)
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream (whipping)
• 1 tablespoon sea salt

Herb Mayonnaise Dipping Sauce

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup chopped mint
• 1/3 cup chopped Thai basil (or regular basil)
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons sea salt

Directions:

1. To make fries:.
2. Cut sweet potatoes lengthwise, then cut into french fries. I like them skinny.
3. Chop sage into small pieces.
4. Place cut sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet, in a single layer.
5. Drizzle olive oil.
6. Spread brown sugar, sea salt and cracked black pepper over potatoes.
7. Bake in oven at 350° for 30=40 minutes, or until a fork can poke through easily.
8. Once out of the oven, sprinkle chopped sage, let cool and serve.
9. To make Sriracha Mayonnaise:.
10. In a food processor, combine mayonnaise, Sriracha, cream and salt.
11. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes until thick and creamy. Don't overmix. Serve as a dipping sauce for fries(also good with onion rings and fish).
12. To make Herb Mayonnaise:.
13. In a food processor, combine mayonnaise, herbs and sea salt.
14. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes until all ingredients are well blended.
15. Serve as a dipping sauce for fries or onion rings(also good with fish).

Reviews

[bluemoon downunder]

We love sweet potatoes and this recipe was certainly a yummy way to cook them. Loved the sage on these, but then I am partial to sage. I used less sugar, salt and pepper, basically halving each of these: personal taste preference. We did very much enjoy the blend of flavours. I took heed of IngridH's review and knowing also that sweet potato can take a while to cook through, I cut the fries fairly thin... and they were well cooked within 35 minutes. Having zero tolerance for anything hot, I made the herb mayonnaise dipping sauce (using a low-fat mayonnaise and again with only about half the salt specified) which I made with regular basil as I'm unfamiliar with Thai basil. Both the fries and the dipping sauce were delicious! Thanks for sharing this great recipe, Sharon. Made for Newest Zaar Tag.

[IngridH]

I'm sorry to say that I was not impressed with this recipe. I usually love sweet potato fries, but these just didn't deliver. The cooking time is too short, after thirty minutes, I could just barely poke with a fork. After another 10, they were somewhat soft, but still not truly done. I didn't feel that the flavors of the sugar and sage really melded with the potato, they were more like another dipping sauce that the potatoes were cooked in. Maybe increasing the oven temp or the cooking time would help pull the flavors together as the sweet potatoes get soft. I made a quarter recipe of each dipping sauce, and still felt that there was way too much, although they had good flavor. I'd make them again to dip other things. If you don't like firey spice, cut down the amount of sriracha- this much is very, very spicy. Made for PRMR tag.