Sweet Potato Fries with Cajun Yogurt Sauce
Growing up in South Louisiana our sweet potatoes usually came in the form of a casserole, loaded with brown sugar and butter, or as part of a custardy pie.
I recently came across a fantastic recipe, in The Way We Cook by Sheryl Julien and Julie Riven, for sweet potato fries that are baked in the oven instead of fried. I served them at a dinner party to rave reviews. The fries are served with a yogurt sauce. I have taken the liberty of spicing up the fries and the sauce with traditional cajun seasonings.
Spicy Yogurt Sauce
1 c plain yogurt
1/2 c light sour cream
3 Tbsp grated onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp spicy bottled cocktail sauce, or to taste
Few dashes hot sauce
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Combine the yogurt and sour cream in a small bowl. Add the onion, garlic, cocktail sauce, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Stir again just before serving.
Sweet Potato Fries
4 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cajun seasoning, such as Tony Chachere’s
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush 2 large baking sheets with some of the olive oil. Quarter the potatoes lengthwise, then cut each quarter into thirds or fourths to make thick spears. Place the spears flesh side up on the baking sheets. Drizzle with the remaining oil and sprinkle with the cajun seasoning. Roast the potatoes for 35 to 40 minutes, or until they are cooked through.
Serve immediately with the yogurt sauce.
. Per 6 ounce serving, the sweet potato with skin has 7.1 grams of fiber compared to 4.2 grams of fiber per 6 ounces of white potato with skin. Then the South Beach diet came along and Phase 2 of this diet lets you have the sweet potatoes too. Of course most “good diet plans” don’t encourage fried foods, but when dieters in a restaurant are given the choice the sweet potato fries usually win out — after all sweet potatoes ARE on the list and they taste pretty good too. I recently came across a fantastic recipe, in by Sheryl Julien and Julie Riven, for sweet potato fries that are baked in the oven instead of fried. I served them at a dinner party to rave reviews. The fries are served with a yogurt sauce. I have taken the liberty of spicing up the fries and the sauce with traditional cajun seasonings.
I had the privilege of sampling this wonderful appetizer made by Denise herself, and it is truly delicious. The sweet potato fries are extremely yummy, but for me personally it was the yogurt sauce that sealed the deal, just incredibly good. This is one of those meals that, once you start eating them, you have hard time stopping.
The baked sweet potatoes made me think also of another wonderful recipe – Roasted sweet potatoes and onions with rosemary and Parmesan (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/107314), though, those are more useful as a side dish rather than an appetizer.