My son is my most eager taste tester. He has enjoyed this role for over 1,5 years now, ever since he started eating solid foods. I was happy to discover early on he loves sweet potatoes and avocado just as much as I do. When he was a baby I puréed these nutrition packed foods for him. Later on I left some bites in the purée for him to gently chew on, and finally when he was 1 year old, I let him taste sweet potato FRIES. He was instantly hooked – here he is with his happy meal.
Ever since then, I’ve been perfecting my recipe for the ultimate crispy sweet potato fries. I’ve searched tips and tricks on Instagram and I’ve asked Google. The greatest tip I’ve learned is this: to soak the sweet potatoes in cold water prior to baking them in the oven. This takes extra time of course, but is really worth the wait. Soaking ingredients is something I’ve become very familiar with during my plant based adventures. The thin sweet potato sticks soaking in a bowl are a perfect companion for the grain and legume bowls already sitting tightly on the kitchen counter.
Sweet potato fries along with this super green and healthy avocado dip has become a staple in our household. There are a hundred (and more!) different variations of this dip, it never really tastes the same when I make it. This time I wrote the recipe down because it was exceptionally yummy. I combined avocado with some refreshing lime and fresh herbs. And the green spots in the dip? They’re little pieces of broccoli and kale. Until my kids learn to love the taste of raw kale and broccoli, I will hide them into dips and smoothies. And my taste tester isn’t complaining at all.
- Crispy sweet potato fries
- 1 medium sweet potato (~600g / 21oz)
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp melted coconut oil
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt (or to taste)
- Avocado dip
- 3 small avocados
- ⅓ cup chopped broccoli
- few small kale leaves
- 8 basil leaves
- 3 tbsp unsweetened plant based milk (I used oat milk) or yogurt
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
- Prepare sweet potatoes the day before: peel the sweet potato and cut it into even size thin fries (pencil thin).
- Rinse fries with cold water, put in a bowl and cover with cold water. Leave on the kitchen counter overnight.
- Baking the sweet potato fries: preheat oven to 200C/390F.
- Rinse sweet potatoes and pat dry well with a paper towel.
- Take about two handfuls of fries and put inside a plastic bag. Add 1 tsp cornstarch and 1 tsp coconut oil and shake the bag well (until cornstarch is barely visible).
- Put the coated sweet potatoes in a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat procedure (shake fries in a plastic bag with cornstarch and coconut oil) until all fries are ready to be baked.
- Spread fries evenly on one baking sheet and make sure that they don't touch each other.
- Bake fries for 15 minutes. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and flip all the fries over. Once again make sure that they are not touching each other.
- Put the baking sheet back in the oven the other way around that it already was and bake for another 15 minutes. Take a look at the fries after 10 minutes, and bake more if they are not crispy looking yet.
- When the fries look baked and crispy, open the oven door half way and let the moisture away for 5 minutes.
- Take the baking tin out of the oven and sprinkle salt on the crispy fries.
- Avocado dip: Blend all ingredients in a food processor/blender until smooth.
- Enjoy!
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