Sweet Potato Oven Fries

These sweet-salty oven sweet potato fries are about an easy a side dish as you can make. They are hands-off once you get them in the oven, aside from a quick stir to make sure they brown on both sides.

Roasting the sweet potatoes for several minutes helps draw out their inherently sweet flavor. The fries — which are thick wedges similar to steak fries — caramelize in the oven to emerge beautifully browned. Jessica Harris serves these fries for her Kwanzaa celebration dinner for what she says is, "another nod to the African-American diet in the South." That said, these are easy enough to make that you should add them to your weeknight rotation as well.

You can play around with the seasonings for these fries very easily. Sprinkle one or two teaspoons of pimentón (smoked paprika) or urfa chile powder for a little smokiness to balance the sweet. A dose of something spicy will also work nicely here; try American or Kashmiri chile powder, or a smaller amount of cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes. If you want to add a bit of earthiness, toss them with ground cumin before roasting. Herbal flavors also work nicely; you can toss the sweet potatoes with a few tablespoons of an herb blend like herbes de Provence, or your own favorite mix — we suggest dried thyme, oregano, and basil.

When they are ready to eat, serve them on their own, or with a dipping sauce like aioli, chimichurri, or seasoned ketchup. These work nicely with a Sunday roast, grilled chicken or pork, steaks or burgers off the grill, or with a batch of sautéed shrimp or other seafood. The options are endless.