baked sweet potato fries

I have been thinking about pork chops for a while now. I really love pork chops. As I’ve mentioned here, I haven’t eaten much pork in recent years.  Well, times-are-a-changin’.

I’ve been seriously craving my Dad’s breaded pork chops.  I think they were my Dad’s. Maybe it was my Mom who made them, not sure, but Dad was the one who loved them, so they will always be Dad’s pork chops to me.  Isn’t it funny how certain foods will always be attached to certain people in our lives?  Like smells and songs.

Well, sweet potato fries for me will always be attached to my good friend Ruth. Ruth used to live on our block, and yes she was my neighbor, but more than that, she was, and still is, a very good friend. She and her family moved to San Francisco last summer (happy for them, sad for us). She’s another foodie and she’s always making something wonderful.  I miss her.

It was not uncommon for her 9 year old daughter Aliza (rosebud’s good friend) to knock on our door and offer us a freshly baked Challah.

Ruth (a rabbi), and her husband David would invite us over to share their special Shabbat dinners on Friday nights.  Being the non-practicing good Catholic that I am, I know pretty much next-to-nothing about this.  But it was special to them, so it became special to us. It felt sacred, and I loved that.

They had candles, honey on Challah (homemade, of course) and wine. Before dinner we all held hands and sang songs in Hebrew (well, they sang, we listened).

I remember one night David made this absolutely delicious salmon. It had a brown sugar spice rub (he told me it was a mix he picked up at The Spice House in Evanston) which I then purchased and still use EVERY SINGLE TIME I make salmon because it is that good.

But, I digress.

It may have been the same night David made that killer salmon, I’m not sure, but Ruth made these absolutely delicious baked sweet potato fries.  Oh my goodness. When we arrived, they were sitting on the table in a giant bowl and Ruth was already nibbling on them. That is just how she is.  LOVE.

I now understand how there is no way to not nibble on them before dinner. They are that delicious.

I’m really happy that you’ve stayed with me this far because here is the super-special-secret-spice that sends these fries into the stratosphere:  curry.

I realize that some of you are probably not curry fans. You’ve tried Indian curry or a Thai curry dish and decided that curry is not the spice for you.  I’ve heard this before, sadly.

But, I’m asking you to open your mind, and palate, just this once.

The curry flavor is subtle, and combined with the sweetness of the potato, it’s amazing. Add a little salt and you have that sweet salty thing going on.  Whoa.

So tonight I was craving breaded pork chops and I thought of Ruth’s sweet potato fries and how perfectly they would go together. Now I know pork isn’t Kosher, and to pair it with Ruth’s fries felt a bit…….odd.

But, Ruth wouldn’t mind. She is a fellow foodie with a big heart and she gets me. And I knew her fries would be SO GOOD with pork!

So, I went to Fresh Market this afternoon and picked up some pork chops and a few sweet potatoes.  For fries, try to choose the ones that have more of an even shape, like this one:

I made them tonight for me, rosebud and her friend Abigail, along with breaded pork chops. YUM. The girls dipped my beloved breaded porkchops in ketchup (cringe!), but couldn’t get enough of the sweet potato fries. They polished off the entire bowl.  Happy happy, joy joy!

And did I mention how good these are for you?

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Inspired by Ruth Abusch-Magdar

Makes enough for 3-4 as a side

2 large sweet potatoes, washed and peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
1 teasp ground curry
1 teasp salt

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Cut off each end of the sweet potato.  Cut each potato in ½ length-wise, and then in 1/2 cross-wise. Place potato pieces flat side down, and cut into fries. You will probably have to cut each fry in ½ length-wise one more time so they resemble true “fries”.

Keep in mind that you want them as close to the same size as possible for even cooking (I know this can be tricky).

Put fries in a large bowl, and mix in olive oil, curry and salt. Toss together with clean hands so it’s mixed up well.

Rub a cookie sheet with a bit of olive oil and spread the fries out. Make sure you spread them out evenly so they are not lying on top of each other. The fries should pretty much fill up the cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 mins. DON’T FLIP THEM YET. I know it’s hard not to, because you think they might burn, but you want that little bit of charred edge. That adds flavor.

Check on them while they’re baking just to make sure. Oven temps do vary.

After about 30 mins, gently flip them with a spatula or tongs so the other side can brown.

Bake for another 10 mins, or until desired crispiness.

I have yet to get really cripsy sweet potato fries. It may just be the nature of the sweet potato. Or maybe it’s the baking and not frying. Not sure. Some of  them turn out brown and crispy around the edges, and some are soft.  But, trust me, soft is not a bad thing when they taste this good.

Toss on a bit more salt to finish.  These are definitely a little slice of heaven.