Frites de Patates Douces d'Egypte

[Egyptian Sweet Potato Fries]

When Maxence and I went grocery shopping in the ethnic stores of the rue de Clignancourt last week, we bought sweet potatoes. There were five (five!) varieties to choose from, so we asked the store attendant which variety was the sweetest, and he pointed us to the ones from Egypt, white-fleshed with a dark pink skin.

Tonight, I used them to make sweet potato fries in the oven. Very simple, very good.

Egyptian Sweet Potato Fries

- 4 large sweet potatoes from Egypt
- 1 TBSP + 1 tsp olive oil
- a generous pinch of red pepper flakes
- salt, pepper

(Serves 3 to 4.)

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Peel the sweet potatoes, and slice them into strips or wedges - not too thin, it's nice when the fries are fleshy.

In a medium bowl, toss the fries with a tablespoon of olive oil, and a good shake of salt.

Line a baking sheet with foil, and oil the foil (and she rhymes!) with a teaspoon of olive oil. Spread out the sweet potato fries onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, tossing every 15 minutes for an even browning. If you have a grill or broiler mode on your oven, switch to it for the last ten minutes of baking.

Take the baking sheet out, pick up a fry, blow on it to cool it down, taste it. Add salt to the fries if needed, and sprinkle pepper and red pepper flakes. The fries could be flavored with a variety of other spices (cumin, ginger, garlic, cinnamon...) but I wanted to taste the true sweet potato flavor before I fiddled with it...

Serve with a small dipping ramequin of maple syrup, with chili sauce and/or old-fashioned mustard. This would make a great side to accompany chicken or pork. We just had them as our main dish for dinner, but I know you won't tell on me.