Sweet Potato Fries with Roasted Garlic Aioli

This recipe is not only easy to make, but is packed with a punch of amazing flavor!  The salty, spicy sweet potato fries are baked until crispy and work amazingly well with the cool and creamy roasted garlic in the aioli. As the cooking method for these sweet potato fries is roasting,  this is a healthier alternative than heading to a fast food joint and getting the deep fried version.  To take the calories down even more, substitute your favorite ketchup for the aioli and eat this dish entirely guilt free!

Ingredients:

For the Sweet Potato Fries:

3 medium - large sweet potatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Cayenne Pepper (to your preference, I used about a tablespoon)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cornstarch (optional)

For the Roasted Garlic Aioli:

1 bulb of garlic

3/4 cup mayo

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

To begin, Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Peel the sweet potatoes. 

Slice the peeled potatoes into fries - consistency in thickness and size is important so that they will cook evenly.   

Mince two cloves of garlic finely.

Put the cut fries in a large mixing bowl or ziploc bag, and add the olive oil, cayenne pepper, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.  Mix well so the fries are evenly coated.  Upon researching this recipe, I stumbled upon a tip noted on the blog Cookie + Kate, where a user suggests adding a light sprinkling of corn starch to ensure extra crispy fries.  I decided to omit this step and had great results- but if you are worried they won't be cooked to perfection this is a great idea!

Use a cookie sheet without tinfoil or parchment paper to bake, this will ensure you get a nice crispiness to the fries. Spread the fries evenly over the cookie sheet without too much crowding; I baked my fries on two separate cookie sheets. 

Slice the top off of the bulb of garlic, exposing the cloves.  Rub the tops of the cloves with olive oil and put onto a corner of one of your cookie sheets.  This will be used in the aioli. 

Bake for 15 minutes.  Take the cookie sheets out of the oven, and flip the fries.  Place in the oven once more for 15 minutes.  Once the fries have been in the oven for 30 minutes, take them out to cool.  The fries will have a wonderful aroma and will look a bit more puffed up.

The aioli I created is based off of an allrecipes aioli; Combine all of the aioli ingredients except for the garlic bulb in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. 

When the garlic bulb is cool enough to handle, the cloves should easily come free by either using a fork, or pressing on the outside of the garlic blub.  Form a paste with the garlic cloves and add it into your aoili mixture.  Whisk well until combined.

Once the fries have slightly cooled, and your aioli has been mixed, serve it while its hot!  This is a great dish to make for a group gathering or even just to munch on with your room mate late night.  The leftover aioli would be great to use on sandwiches, veggies, and future batches of these amazing fries! Enjoy!

-Chef Hallie