Sometimes the process of deciding what to cook is so mysterious. I wanted something simple and vegetarian on Friday night and my first instinct was a baked potato bar, with sweet potatoes. Then I got to thinking about what toppings I would use… lots of cilantro, lime, some kind of cheese? THEN I decided on sweet potato fries, tossed in fresh herbs, dipped in a garlic, lime, and cilantro mayo. Heaven.
I was committed to making the perfect oven fries – in the past I’ve always ended up with a soft, gooey mess stuck to the bottom of the pan. I discovered some tricks that I’d like to share:
1. Hot oven, 500 degrees, and preheat your pan in the oven while you’re at it. Once your fries hit the pan, they’ll begin to sizzle and brown.
2. Non-stick pan, although maybe with the preheating trick you won’t need it. The only non-stick thing in my house is our heavy duty roaster. Worked perfectly.
3. Less oil. You don’t want a greasy mess. I used 1/2 tablespoon per potato.
4. All fries need to be the same size. I used my handy mandoline for perfect, thin fries.
5. Shake once or twice, no more. This ensures perfect browning.
Other than that, I just tossed my cut potatoes with olive oil, coarse salt, minced garlic, and chopped fresh cilantro. Onto the hot pan and into the oven for about 30 minutes or until well-browned, shaking once. Serve hot. On the side, mayo mixed with fresh lime juice, minced garlic, and more cilantro.
Yes, I had a plate of sweet potato fries for dinner, and a yogurt for dessert.
The next night we still had a couple of sweet potatoes left plus some leftover cooked black beans from the week so here’s what we made:
Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos
Makes 6 burritos
Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups cooked or canned black beans
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 baked sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup crumbled pecorino romano cheese
Handful roughly chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cabbage head, shredded
6 whole wheat tortillas
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium pan, cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil over moderate heat until soft and browned. Add the beans and curry powder and cook until heated through.
2. In a large bowl gently toss the bean mixture, sweet potatoes, cheese, and cilantro until evenly combined.
3. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with the shredded cabbage. Fill each tortilla with 1/6th of the filling, fold, and arrange on the bed of cabbage. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.
* The shredded cabbage infuses the burritos with moisture and flavor. Toss the cooked cabbage with some olive oil and lime juice and you’ve got an instant side!
