Sunday, January 23, 2011

Simple sweet potatoes

I remember back in grad school eating lunch with a friend who ordered a plain sweet potato. I asked him, What's up with that? And he said, I'm trying to appreciate the real flavor of food. No butter, no salt, no brown sugar. I never forgot the sentiment, although I don't quite live up to his example. I do, however, always keep a big bowl of sweet potatoes in my kitchen. They often become lunch, snack or even dessert.

These recipes aren't going to win any culinary awards, but they're oh so easy:

Simply baked
Scrub and pierce your sweets with a fork several times.
Stick in 400-degree oven for 30 min. No foil, except maybe under them to catch drippings.
After 30 min., turn off oven and leave potatoes in for an hour or more. This is the key; it brings out the natural sweetness and makes the texture incredibly smooth.
If you're cool as Claude, mash with a fork and enjoy. If you're less cool like me, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Simple sweet and salty fries
Scrub, cut off ends, then cut potato in half.
Cut into 1/2-wide sticks, leaving skin on.
Arrange on cookie sheet, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and dried rosemary.
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. No need to turn.