Thanksgiving 2008: Sweet Potato Fries with Rosemary and Garlic

I had the best intentions this weekend of posting photos and recipes from a Thanksgiving dinner I had with friends on Saturday.  Unfortunately, I misplaced my camera in my wreck of a kitchen, and I didn’t get any good shots.  There also isn’t much left in the way of leftovers after some serious midnight snacking and a Sunday of scavenging.  So, I’m re-making and posting some of the sides, plus a few other holiday appropriate dishes this week.  

I decided to start with sweet potato fries.  Sweet potato fries might not be the most traditional Thanksgiving dish, but who doesn’t like them?  Time to update the classic veggie with a new treatment!  I wanted something more casual and more universally appealing than my grandmother’s marshmallow covered dish. That treat would send even the healthiest human into a diabetic coma.  Unfortunately, these didn’t really turn out how I wanted on Saturday.  I didn’t plan my oven use as well as I should have, and I had to crowd my fries on a single baking sheet.  This kept them from crisping up properly.  They were still tasty, but not what I’d been hoping for.  Tonight, I gave them plenty of room, and they turned out beautifully.  

This recipe is exceedingly easy to adapt to whatever size crowd you are having.  Allow one sweet potato for every two guests.  Make sure to have the fries cut as uniformly as possible, so that they cook in approximately the same amount of time.  You can omit the curry powder, but it adds a wonderful depth to the background flavor.  

Sweet Potato Fries with Rosemary and Garlic

 

• 1 sweet potato, cut into fries
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 sprig rosemary, leaves finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp curry powder (optional)
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 T parsley, finely chopped

 

Preheat oven to 425º.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  In a large bowl, add the sweet potatoes and drizzle them with the olive oil.  Add the garlic, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, the curry powder, and the rosemary.  

Spread the fries out in a single layer on the baking sheet.  

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the fries are crisp.  Turn the fries two to three times during cooking.  Remove from the oven, and sprinkle with parsley and a bit more salt.  Serve hot.

Serves 2.

PS – my blogging companion just demanded to have his picture included, since he has been so patiently hanging out with me this evening.  Here he is: 

Ridiculous.